What to Write in a Letter: 30 Ideas When You Don’t Know What to Say
You want to write someone a real letter. You have the paper, the pen and maybe even the envelope ready. And then you realize you have absolutely no idea what to write.
Writing a letter can feel strangely difficult when most of our everyday communication happens in short messages. In a text, you can send one thought, wait for a reply and continue the conversation later. A letter asks you to sit down with an empty page and somehow decide what deserves to go on it.
The good news is that a personal letter does not need a big reason, an important announcement or pages of beautifully written thoughts. Some of the loveliest letters are simply collections of ordinary things: something that happened this week, a memory that came back to you, a recommendation, a question you have been meaning to ask or a small detail that made you think of the person you are writing to.
If you have been wondering what to write in a letter, here are 30 places to begin.
What do you write in a personal letter?
Start with what you would tell this person if they were sitting across from you.
You do not need to formally introduce the purpose of your letter. Tell them what your week has been like. Mention the book on your bedside table, something funny you overheard or the dinner that went completely wrong. Ask about something they mentioned the last time you spoke. Tell them why you suddenly felt like writing to them.
A personal letter becomes interesting because it sounds like you, not because every paragraph contains something important.
If physical letters are still fairly new to you, you might also like What Is Snail Mail? A Guide to Letters, Mail Clubs & Happy Post. But if the envelope is already sitting in front of you, let's fill it.
30 things to write in a letter
1. Tell them what your day actually looked like
Not the polished summary. Tell them about the train you nearly missed, what you made for dinner or the ridiculous thing that happened at work. Ordinary details often make letters feel the most personal.
2. Write about something that reminded you of them
Maybe you heard a song they used to play constantly, walked past somewhere you once went together or saw something in a shop that was unmistakably them. Tell them.
3. Share a memory you still think about
Choose one specific memory rather than trying to summarise years of friendship. Where were you? What happened? What tiny detail do you still remember?
4. Tell them what you are looking forward to
A trip, the first properly cold morning, seeing them again, a concert next month or simply having nothing planned on Sunday.
5. Ask about something they told you before
If they mentioned an interview, a difficult conversation, a new neighbour or a book they had just started, ask what happened. Remembering the little things someone tells you is one of the simplest ways to make a letter feel genuinely personal.
6. Recommend something you loved recently
A book, film, podcast, recipe, tiny restaurant, album or even a particular episode of a television show. Add why you think they might like it rather than simply writing the title.
7. Tell them something you appreciate about them
It does not need to become a dramatic declaration of friendship. Perhaps they always remember birthdays, ask good questions or are the person who makes ordinary plans unexpectedly fun.
8. Write about what is outside your window
This sounds almost too simple, but letters become wonderfully tangible when they contain a little piece of where they were written. Rain against the window, people sitting outside again after winter or the neighbour's cat occupying its usual spot all count.
9. Share something you have changed your mind about
It can be serious or completely trivial. A place you once disliked, a food you finally understand, an opinion you held five years ago or something you were convinced you would never enjoy.
10. Tell them what you are reading
You do not need to write a review. Tell them where you are in the book, whether you are enjoying it and one thought it has left you with.
When you want the letter to feel more personal
The difference between a letter and a long message is not necessarily the content. It is often the attention behind it. You chose the paper, sat down, wrote the words by hand, found an envelope and sent something physical through the world to another person.
That means there is room for details that would feel unnecessary in a text message. In a letter, unnecessary details are often the good part.
11. Describe something small that made you happy
The first strawberries of the season. Finding money in an old coat. A dog you saw on the bus. Fresh sheets. A song coming on at exactly the right moment.
12. Write a tiny list
Try five things making life better lately, three things I think you'd love or things we need to do the next time we see each other. A list also helps when a full page of prose feels intimidating.
13. Tell them about someone you met
A new colleague, the eccentric owner of a shop you discovered or the stranger who told you their entire life story while you waited for a train.
14. Write about a place you recently visited
Describe what it actually felt like rather than giving them a travel guide. What did you eat? What surprised you? What would you take them to see if they were there?
15. Share a little piece of your current routine
Maybe you have started walking before breakfast, buying bread from a different bakery or reading before bed instead of scrolling. These tiny snapshots are the things that make a letter feel like a record of a particular moment in someone's life.
16. Tell them what has been on your mind lately
Not every letter needs to stay light. If something has been occupying your thoughts, there is something about writing it slowly by hand that can make it easier to explain.
17. Write something you never remember to say in person
Perhaps you always get distracted when you meet or the moment never seems quite right. A letter gives you room to finish the thought.
18. Tell them about something you are trying to figure out
You do not necessarily need advice. Sometimes it is enough to let somebody into the unfinished parts of your thinking.
19. Share an old inside joke
Especially one you have not mentioned in years. Bonus points if it makes absolutely no sense to anyone except the two of you.
20. Tell them what you miss
A person, place, version of your routine, old tradition or something the two of you used to do together.
What if something was waiting in your mailbox too?
The Femme Letter is a monthly letter delivered to your door, created for slower moments away from the screen. Each edition comes with a personal letter and a small collection of thoughtfully chosen paper goods.
Discover The Monthly Letter →Letter writing ideas when you feel like you have nothing interesting to say
One of the biggest reasons people get stuck is the belief that something interesting needs to have happened first. But imagine receiving a letter from someone you care about. Would you really be disappointed because they told you about their Sunday morning, the soup they made and the film they watched?
Probably not.
You would be reading it because those ordinary details came from them.
21. Write about your current favourite thing
A snack, lipstick, walking route, song, mug, television series or coat. There is no minimum level of importance required.
22. Describe your perfect ordinary day
Not the dream holiday or fantasy life. What would a really good Tuesday look like from morning until night?
23. Tell them about something that made you laugh
Trying to explain why something was funny on paper often makes the story even better.
24. Share something you recently learned
It could come from a documentary, a conversation, something you read or a completely unnecessary internet rabbit hole.
25. Write about what the season feels like where you are
The first dark evenings, unbearably hot afternoons, Christmas lights appearing too early or the morning when you finally noticed spring had arrived.
26. Give them three recommendations
One thing to read, one thing to watch and one thing to listen to is an easy place to start.
27. Tell them what you would do if they were visiting tomorrow
Where would you go? What would you eat? What would you insist they see? Suddenly you have half a page.
28. Write about something you want to do together
A trip you keep talking about, a restaurant you need to try, a film night, a concert or simply finally seeing each other without six months passing first.
29. Ask them a question you genuinely want answered
Not just How are you? Ask what they are excited about right now, what they have been thinking about lately or what has changed since you last properly talked.
30. Tell them why you decided to write
Maybe there is no bigger explanation than I thought of you and realised I hadn't sent you anything in far too long.
That is enough.
What can you put inside a letter besides the letter?
If the envelope allows it, you can add something small. A photograph, postcard, recipe, little drawing, pressed flower, ticket stub or clipping from a magazine can turn an ordinary letter into something the recipient wants to keep.
It does not need to become a miniature gift box every time you send mail. One tiny piece of your world is enough, particularly when it has some connection to what you wrote. If you mentioned a photograph you found while clearing a drawer, tuck it inside. If you recommended a recipe, write it on a separate card.
How long should a personal letter be?
As long as you have something you want to say.
A letter can fill six pages or half of one. You do not need to keep writing because an empty section of paper makes the letter feel unfinished. Equally, you do not need to apologise because you ended up writing much more than you intended.
There is no ideal word count for correspondence between two people who know each other.
If you are struggling to begin, make the goal ridiculously small: write one page. Often the pressure disappears once the first few sentences are there and you find yourself continuing anyway.
How do you start a letter without sounding awkward?
You can simply begin with the person.
I was thinking about you this morning.
I realised it has been far too long since I wrote.
Something happened yesterday that I knew you'd appreciate.
I have been meaning to tell you this.
I don't have a particular reason for writing. I just wanted to send you something.
There is nothing wrong with How are you? either. But beginning with one specific thought often makes it easier to find the next sentence.
You do not need to write a beautiful letter
Your handwriting might become increasingly chaotic by page three. You might cross something out, squeeze a forgotten sentence into the margin or realise after sealing the envelope that you never answered the question you originally meant to answer.
That is part of what makes a handwritten letter feel different from something typed, corrected and edited before it reaches another person. It carries small traces of the person who sat down to write it.
So if you have been waiting until you know exactly what to say, don't.
Choose one idea from this list. Write the first sentence. Let the rest of the letter become whatever it becomes.
The person opening the envelope probably isn't looking for perfect writing.
They're looking for you.
