Today A Month of Letters Challenge began. If you hurry you
can still join.
Mary Robinette Kowa, an award winning author and puppeteer,
is the architect for this challenge to send a piece of mail, anything really,
to some one during the month of February.
Mary, like us postcard hounds, loves to send and receive
snail mail, especially hand-written, that reminds us that someone thought of us
and cares enough to take the time to send a note -- be it a postcard, letter, a
swath of fabric or surprise package. Introducing her challenge, Kowa said,
"I find that I slow down and write differently than I do with an email.
Email is all about the now. Letters are different, because whatever I write
needs to be something that will be relevant a week later..."
She's spot on. Our writing changes depending on the medium
we are using. Content follows form. When I sent my first "letter," a
postcard, I ended up writing an eight-line, rhymed poem based on the postcard's
image contrasting the climate of the addressee. It was creative fun.
So Are You Ready For A Challenge? Here's how Mary set it
up:
"In the month of February, mail at least one item
through the post every day it runs. Write a postcard, a letter, send a picture,
or a cutting from a newspaper, or a fabric swatch
Write back to everyone who writes to you. This can count as one of your mailed
items.
All you are committing to is to mail 23 items. Why 23? There
are four Sundays and one US holiday. In fact, you might send more than 23
items."
You can find out a lot more about the challenge and register
for it at Mary's site
here.
At the site you will find all kinds of great ways to interact with other
letter writers in the challenge. She even has badges like the one above and
other achievement badges you can download to your blog or web site to show your
are a man or women of letters.
