Keep the contents left-justified and single-spaced. This is known as block format, and it’s the most common way to organize a ...

This story was originally published on April 24, 2025, and has been updated. The art of letter writing is not dead. Rachel Syme, a New Yorker staff writer, learned that during the early days of the ...

You don’t need perfect penmanship. Here are a few ways to build the habit. By Elizabeth Passarella Several months ago, I got a handwritten letter from my sister. We were raised to be prompt thank-you ...

Rachel Syme, a New Yorker staff writer, learned that during the early days of the pandemic. Longing for human connection, she asked her followers on social media if anyone wanted to be her pen pal. "I ...

"Correspondence is a leap of faith, and that is part of what makes it wonderful," says Rachel Syme, author of Syme's Letter Writer: A Guide to Modern Correspondence. "You may never know if the person ...