Of Letters and Consistent Writing

Dear Fellow,

This year, after a phone call on my birthday with Elechi which lasted about 13 minutes and 26 seconds, she sent this letter to me via e-mail:

IOU

I owe you a letter.

Kind regards,

Elechi.

That letter arrived in my inbox at about 11.31 p.m. on my birthday. She promised to write a letter to me as a birthday gift during the phone call. I reason that she was committed to keeping to the promise, and would not let it tarry into the next day. The time frame of the promise matters as well. At least, to Elechi. Excluding the title of the letter, there are just eight words in that letter.

On the 5th of September 2023, I received a letter containing over 350 words from her. It was heartwarming and cheering. She only needed more time to gather her thoughts, as she had real-life responsibilities as we all do.

Another fascinating letter for me (based on its length in this case) is one written by Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936). One time The Times asked some writers for essays on the topic “What’s Wrong with the World?” and Chesterton wrote:

Dear Sirs,

I am.

Sincerely yours,

G. K. Chesterton.¹

Sir Chesterton’s letter is a word longer than Elechi’s letter. What’s similar between both letters, they communicate meaningful messages. However, that’s not just the point of this despatch.

Image source: John DeVore

The point of this despatch. I like to think that a major threat to consistent writing is the pressure to write long passages. For a typical Nigerian student in senior secondary school, you are expected to write a letter, essay or short story of not less than 250 words in English Language tests or examinations. (This standard is adopted from the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination—WASSCE.) It was perhaps the most dreaded section of the English Language examinations among my classmates in secondary school. Given such background, you can be sure only a few of us would grow up to not conceive such writing endeavour as a dreadful, painstaking effort.

This despatch was inspired by a Fellow’s question. He asked about how I sustain a consistent writing practice. The answer is that I redefined what writing practice is for me.

Aside from writing letters as the easiest style of writing, I think letter writing is the best way for me to keep the dreaded “writer’s block” at bay. When feeling blank, I could write a letter to God telling Him about that blankness. What’s more, I redefined my writing practice thus: One meaningful sentence a day (e.g., an SMS to a friend or a line of thought in my journal) is enough writing practice for me. I lived by this philosophy since two years ago or so. This philosophy implies that my answer to the question “How often do you practice writing” is daily. It also implies that my social media chats are also opportunities for me to practice the craft (writing).

One meaningful sentence is a shot at getting better at spelling words correctly, punctuating correctly, placing words correctly, and mastering just about every basic element of the craft (writing).

In conclusion, consider what Stephen King says about the basic skills of writing in his classic On Writing: “At its most basic we are only discussing a learned skill (writing), but do we not agree that sometimes the most basic skills can create things far beyond our expectations?”²

Only on this matter we’ve looked at so far: “major on the minor” which is the basic skills of writing, and be better for it. Commit to writing just one meaningful sentence each day, good Fellow!

Your LetterMan,

Tongjal, W. N.

1. As narrated this book: Philip Yancey, Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived My Church (Euston Road: Hodder & Stoughton, 2003), p. 56. Print.

2. The best book on writing I have read yet: Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (New York: Scribner, 2000), p. 137. eBook.