Looking to write a special, romantic note to your loved one? Here are a few tips to get you started!

Tip #1: It doesn’t have to be fancy

It can be super intimidating to write a love letter. We all have this perception that every love letter has to be elegantly penned by an expert hand with words that would melt any man or woman into a puddle.

Wrong. A love letter (or any letter for that matter) does not have to be fancy! Think about the letters that you treasure most. If you’re anything like us, most of those letters are short and awkwardly written in scratchy handwriting. But still we treasure them because of the meaning behind them.

Don’t get caught up in trying to impress. Just be real, be your simple self and be honest about what you feel. You can’t go wrong!

Tip #2: It doesn’t have to be long

Hey, we understand that there is some pressure about lengthy love letters. Every novel, romantic Edwardian era chick flick and even entire songs tend to push the idea that a love letter has to be long and drawn out to be any good. We’re here to tell you it doesn’t.

In fact, we dare say that the best letters are the short ones. This is true, especially so now, since we live in an age where everyone is rushing and busy and no one takes the time to do those little things for one another anymore. A quick short I love you letter is a way to say “Hey, I’m pretty busy but I took the time to write this especially for you, even if it is short!”

And really, if your special someone criticizes you because your letter is too short (rather than just loving the heck out of it), you’ve got bigger problems! Keep it sweet, short and simple. We promise it won’t be any less special.

Tip#3: Spellcheck!

Not trying to be grammar you-know-what’s here, but truth be told; If your love letter is full of misspellings and grammatical errors it will not have nearly the same amount of impact as it will have if you check and double check your writing.

We know you all love your internet slang & acronyms. You know, the ‘lol’s and the ‘ily’s. A really heartfelt love letter, however, is not the place for that. Some people may disagree, but if you really want to wow your special someone in a new way –take a step out of the internet lingo.

An “I Love You” that you took the time to write out is 100 times better than writing ‘ily.’ Bonus: writing the words out will give your letter a little more length! How about that!

Tip #4: Be creative! Think Outside the Box.

So writing isn’t really your thing. We get that. Trust us, you’re not alone. So try something different! Who says a love letter has to be a literal letter?

There are tons of alternative ideas out there! For example, one horrible writer sent his girlfriend a giant envelope full of hearts. On each heart he had written “I love you” in every language. When she opened the envelope she was flooded with what turned out to be a very big I love you from the person she loved most.

It was easy to put together (just a little scissor-work) and being the terrible writer that he knew he was, he was able to convey just how much he loved her with the same amount of impact that a love letter would have had without the stress of having to force himself to write.

So all you bad writers out there -don’t be intimidated! Look for or create new ways to show your love. Your love letter can be whatever you want it to be as long as it tells your s/o that you love them.

Tip#5: I have no idea what to write about.

No problem, we’ve got your back! Here are some easy writing prompts that anyone can use to write their own special romantic letter:

  • An alphabetical list of reasons why you love them. (A – you have an AMAZING skill for baking cookies. B – you are the epitome of BUBBLY. Etc…)
  • A list of 100/50/25 reasons why you love them.
  • A poem about the dynamics of your relationship. ( This just in; Poems don’t have to rhyme!)
  • Take the letters “LDR” and use them to create reasons why you love one another despite the distance.
  • Don’t write your love letter out –draw it!
  • Write your letter as if you were a secret admirer.
  • Write a message using each letter in their name
  • Write a week’s worth of letters –one every day, and send them all together.

We’d love to hear your own ideas. Share them with us!