I spend most of my day writing on this blog or writing emails to sources, but I only manage to send a few print letters every year. During my vacation later this month, I will test drive a stack of Moleskine’s Postal Notebooks in an attempt to reverse this bad writing habit.
Earlier this week, Michele Filgate wondered “Will social media kill writers’ diaries?”
I think letter-writing is a casualty of that same impulse. We spend so much time reading and writing fractured pieces of our experience that we forget to tell our story in the broad strokes of a diary or letter.
Here’s an excerpt from her essay:
Kate Zambreno (author of “Heroines”) is very active on Twitter — and often tweets her strong opinions … She still keeps a private diary, though — which she says is “necessary for my process as a writer and person. I hope I always will. I think I allow myself to document there in a less fragmented way, or sometimes, more fragmented, not feeling an immediate pressure for narrative.”
Moleskine’s mini-notebooks contain eight pages plain paper you can fill as you travel, mailing the notebook like a letter when you fill it up with stories. They are available different sizes and colors. Check it out:
For the first time, envelope and card become one, with plenty of space inside for your creativity. Send your thoughts on a journey, choose a destination for your words. A notebook that transforms into an envelope with handy lines for the recipient’s address.