Listen Live
St Jude banner
CLOSE

How to Write a Love Letter

  

By Romance Recovery’s Johanna Lyman for GalTime.com

  

You don’t have to be a pro to write a love letter…Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and while it’s not my favorite holiday, it does turn people’s thoughts to love and romance. I prefer to spread love all year and not focus it on one day, but I know that lots of you like to celebrate.  

I have an idea that will score you a perfect ten on the romance meter: write your partner a love letter. A real one, on real paper, with a pen. For extra credit, have the postman deliver it. I’ll admit, women will tend to be more impressed than men, because women aren’t used to their men expressing their feelings like this. But I’ll bet that everyone who receives a letter like this will appreciate it.  

1. Go to a stationery or office supply store and buy a piece of heavy weight, fancy paper. Some of them even sell matching envelopes for extra bonus points.

2. Find some place you won’t be disturbed, and begin with the salutation. “Dear Susan,” won’t work for this letter. Instead, use an endearing term, preferably one that you have actually spoken before. “My darling,” “My love,” and “Sweetheart,” work well. If you have a silly pet name, use that (one of my friends and her partner call each other Pookie— don’t ask me why).  

 

  

 3. Begin the first paragraph with “I don’t tell you often enough how I love you.” Even if you tell her every day, this is still true. Notice I didn’t say “how much I love you,” but “how I love you.”Then write a few sentences that very specifically describe how you love her. Think about personality traits, qualities, even physical characteristics that you think are special, and write about those. Just be sure to make it about more than just the physical stuff. 

 4. In the second paragraph, take two or three sentences to tell him how he makes you feel. You can say something like, “When you smile at me, I feel like I’m the most special person in the city,” or “In your arms, I feel like I’ll always be safe.” 

 

 

5. In the third paragraph, write about your hopes and dreams for your relationship. You can write, “I dream about taking you away to a tropical island for our retirement,” or some other thing that the two of you share as a dream.  

Related: Top 5 Romantic Movies

  

6. If you have had troubles in your relationship, but still want to make things work, acknowledge them here. You can be straightforward and write, “I know we’ve had our troubles, but we have something bigger than our troubles. It’s important to me that we work through them.”  

7. In closing, don’t just sign “Love, John.” Instead, get a little more sentimental. “All my love to you,” and “My love to you, now and always,” are two suggestions instead.  

Letter writing is becoming a lost art, but it doesn’t have to be. In these days of instant messages, texts, and Twitter, a real letter is a special and meaningful gift.  

What are your top tips for expressing love this Valentine’s Day? Do love letters make you swoon?  

 Original Story