Am I the only one who ...

[Silverbreeze]

Pens my letters into a journal as well as the paper I actually send????

[cwent2]

Not sure, I for one definitely not/

[Sailor Kenshin]

Hmmm. Not in a journal, but I scribble notes on the back of the envelope. Or if I'm really ledge-walking, the front, too.

[Lady Onogaro]

Well, if it sounds as if I am repeating myself, I probably am. I do apologize for it. I do not take notes as to what I said in a previous letter. I had a friend who kept a 3x5 card with notes about what she said to her correspondents, and I admired her for that. I just generally open the letter and reply to what the writers is saying, paragraph by paragraph, plus add whatever is going on with me at that time.

Feel free to repeat stuff to me, too. :)

[Silverbreeze]

Hmmm. Not in a journal, but I scribble notes on the back of the envelope. Or if I'm really ledge-walking, the front, too.

It may be because I always have the journal on me

[Robert]

I do not, although many years ago there was a very special letter that i wrote and photocopied.

[VertOlive]

No, but I have a little journal in which I keep track of what paper/ink/pen I used for a particular reply.

That way Silverbreeze will never have to suffer seeing the same old "3776 Music nib with Diamine Pumpkin on onionskin in an aqua envelope with Jimi Hendrix stamp and 1cent inkwell stamp with vintage blotter tuck-in" letter again.

Which may be a relief.

[Silverbreeze]

No, but I have a little journal in which I keep track of what paper/ink/pen I used for a particular reply.

That way Silverbreeze will never have to suffer seeing the same old "3776 Music nib with Diamine Pumpkin on onionskin in an aqua envelope with Jimi Hendrix stamp and 1cent inkwell stamp with vintage blotter tuck-in" letter again.

Which may be a relief.

I like your swapping to be honest.

[mrcharlie]

I am such a poor writer (meaning language composition, not handwriting) that it would make sense for me to compose in a notebook and make a lot of editing notes and then re-write as I write the actual letter. But I'm slow enough at composing what is basically ephemera anyway; I've decided not to do that.

Some time during 2013 I started using a scanner to save my outgoing mail as a pdf before sending. This was prompted when one letter was not received. I've only re-sent one of the pdfs so far, but I have found it useful to look at my previous letter before starting the new one a decent number of times.

I haven't been trying not to re-use the same ink, but have been logging the date/recipient/stationery used so as to mix that up a bit.

[caribbean_skye]

one dedicated journal where i write (usually in the ink colour) what date the letter is written and mailed out. who it is going to, paper used and pen and ink combos. Would love to keep index cards about what subjects i mentioned but as i tend to segue a lot, the initial attempt was exhausting so. i dont bother.

[00Photo]

I prefer complete and total chaos.

[Ted A]

I scan them and just save on my hard disk. I find that some topics I write about with several correspondants, my vacation, for example, so it is nice to be able to look back and make sure I don't write about the same topic with the same person over and over.

[Silverbreeze]

I scan them and just save on my hard disk. I find that some topics I write about with several correspondants, my vacation, for example, so it is nice to be able to look back and make sure I don't write about the same topic with the same person over and over.

That part of it for me. I also need to practice my handwriting

[mrcharlie]

That part of it for me. I also need to practice my handwriting

For over a year I was copying all of my incoming letters on 3 ring notebook paper as handwriting practice, but I finally stopped a month or so ago. It is easier for me to copy other people's writing verbatim and just worry about my handwriting than copy my own, as I find it difficult not to notice and correct my own vague or badly worded sentences, etc while copying. And if I'm doing that, I'm not concentrating on my penmanship.

[alc3261]

I can't remember what I said in my previous letters so maybe I should!!

[Type40]

I can't remember what I said in my previous letters so maybe I should!!

Only good things, oh course.

[ceramic_pizza]

hmm, I just keep a excel file of everything I send. each little section of the spreadsheet has the date the letter got sent/received and a couple sentences about what was in it. Though I have gotten increasing lazy in actually doing that. Now it's mostly just date, ink, and pen.

[Cob]

Since my recent mania for fountain pens took over, I have taken letter-writing seriously - not having done any "writing" i.e. with a pen and paper for years. I am fortunate to have a pen pal abroad who takes inks, pens, paper - and wax seals - as seriously as I do. So when writing a reply to her beautifully-written letters (she tells me that she uses a Lépine pen) as I have been doing this evening, I first draft it using one of my propelling pencils (which I also love) which is essential with a letter that runs to four sides of A4!

But I think I will follow the example of the poster (Ted A) and scan the letter (when finished) and save it on the hard drive. This way I shall not be buried alive in sheet upon sheet of scrawled-upon inkjet paper!

Good idea and thanks, Ted.

Best wishes

Cob

[Silverbreeze]

Well, if it sounds as if I am repeating myself, I probably am. I do apologize for it. I do not take notes as to what I said in a previous letter. I had a friend who kept a 3x5 card with notes about what she said to her correspondents, and I admired her for that. I just generally open the letter and reply to what the writers is saying, paragraph by paragraph, plus add whatever is going on with me at that time.

Feel free to repeat stuff to me, too. :)

Yup I usually end up answering things for the first part of the letter then adding new things. What i am trying to form a habit of doing is to give an idea of what I am replying to as I am sure most people who Write me have many many pen pals and can't remember every letter they send in a week let alone the 10 days it usually takes for a full turn around and letter back
:amused look at a certain male and a certain female that seem to find time to write everyone:

Hopefully I get better at this with practice, the scary thing is Email has gotten us out of the practice mentally. To the point where it seemed weird when I got an email from someone more used to penning letters. Now I find myself trying to form the same habit.. :)

[ThriveToScribe]

Hmmm. Not in a journal, but I scribble notes on the back of the envelope. Or if I'm really ledge-walking, the front, too.


This is what I like to do, also, just after I read the letter the first time. As I'm slow in responding now that I have many more penpals, I will reread and add notes to the front also. It's all there when I'm ready to write. (if only I would answer more quickly, more often, I might develop a better memory .....then again...nah!

[Christopher McKellar]

I used to do that back before scanners and even copy machines! Would write in the journal first, edit, then hand copy to paper and mail. A twelve page letter was a major commitment!

Now I just copy them, including the envelope if I've done anything unusual with it. It's so nice to have both sides of a correspondence! Years later you can look at them and decide if you were Cyrano or a toad.

I also copy the person's letter, and when I reply send that copy to them. A large tuck in?

[faithdonna]

I used to type out replies in a word processor, note the paper, pen/s, ink/s and any tuck-ins. But I am slow in replying and this makes the process even longer. So now I just dive right in with a reply.