How to Write a Friendly Letter and Share Your Feelings

In the 21st century, getting a letter is a kind of miracle. After watching a black-and-white movie or visiting your granny, you might get a sudden desire to write a letter. When you find out whether post offices still exist in your town, you’ll start wondering how to write a letter to a friend properly. Nobody teaches these things at schools anymore!

Luckily for you, the internet can solve any problem. On our website, we have many helpful guides about writing academic papers, creative texts, and letters. Below, you’ll find one of our guides dedicated to friendly letters. We also have a great example that will simplify your writing process.

How to Write a Friendly Letter: Definition

A friendly letter is an informal message that is aimed at sharing news, feelings, and thoughts with your friends in a somewhat old-fashioned manner. Today, texting and social media have replaced personal letters. But there is no romance or warmness in short printed messages. We hope that our guide on how to write a letter to a friend will help you to surprise any recipient and to put a smile on their face.

A friendly letter should contain a salutation, the main paragraphs (news from you and questions to your friend), and a closing. This kind of letter is personal, so you can feel free to write it in any way you like. However, we’ll be glad to share a few recommendations that will make your letter better.

How to Write a Good Informal Letter to a Friend: 10 Tips

If you don’t have much experience in writing letters (and we bet that you don’t), our tips will be extremely helpful for you. We’ll teach you how to start a letter to a friend properly, what phrases to use, and which topics to avoid. Don’t be afraid of writing letters! They can make someone’s day unforgettable.

1. Begin the letter with a salutation.

Before writing, think of what kind of relationship you have with the person you’re writing to. If you would like to write a letter in a formal style, it will be nice to start it with “Dear.” This word will be appropriate for your close friend and for a person that you’ve just got acquainted with.

If you are writing to a best friend in a casual style, you can start the letter with words like “Hello,” “Hi,” or any word which is common between you. If you are writing to a person with whom you have intimate relations, you can write “My love,” “Sweet,” etc.

2. Explain yourself

Receiving a letter is a great surprise. First of all, mention why you’ve written the letter. Maybe a current event has reminded you of this person, or you just miss an old friend. If you are writing to a person you do not know well, you can mention how you got to know each other. Self-explanation is an essential step in any personal letter and the ultimate answer to how to write a letter to a friend.

3. Start with a question

The first paragraph of a friendly letter is usually pleasant and warm. There are different ways to start it. You can start this paragraph with questions about the person you write, or about the time you last met. Asking questions at the beginning is the best way to show your interest in the person and make your letter into a mutual conversation.

4. Share news

You can write about what is happening in your life. Share an interesting story that happened to you lately. Tell what emotions you’ve felt, what plans you have. Try to describe your life realistically, but don’t add too much information about your troubles or misfortunes.

6. Make it interesting

Start topics that are both interesting to you and the person you are writing to.
You can write your thoughts about things you are interested in or any subject you want to discuss. Share interesting information – it’s always welcome in personal letters. Tell about a book you’ve read or a new place you’ve been – recommend something you like. A boring letter will be the wrong answer to the question of how to write a letter to a friend.

7. Ask more questions

If you want to get a response letter, you should show your interest in the person’s life. You can ask questions about family, work, or vacations. If you have some common friends, ask whether they’ve heard of them recently.

8. Compose the last paragraph

Send the person your best wishes in the last paragraph. End the letter with positive feelings. The last sentences should create the general feel of the whole letter. Encourage your friend to write back or make a call. This will show your desire of hearing from the person soon and will make a logical ending to the letter.

9. Choose a proper closing

The closing is the final part of the letter. Choose appropriate words according to your relationship. Formal endings are “Sincerely,” “Best wishes,” etc.; casual style endings are “Cheers,” “Take care,” etc.; and intimate endings are “Lots of love,” “Thinking of you,” etc.

10. Add a P. S. section

You can add a postscript, or P. S., at the end of the letter after your signature. It’s usually the information that you want to tell, but it’s not so important to present it in the main paragraph. Another option works for written letters: you might forget to write about an important aspect in the main body, but you don’t want to rewrite the whole text. And that’s the right moment for a postscript.

Now, you even know how to end a friendly letter and how to make it interesting. Still, we want you to make it perfect! For this reason, we give you another helpful checklist about how NOT to write a letter to your friend. Avoid these mistakes, and you’ll bring your writing to perfection easily!

How to Write a Letter to Your Friend: Common Mistakes

The personal letter format has no strict requirements. Still, we’re sure that you want to make it as well-written as possible. You will want to avoid the following mistakes in your writing:

• Not introducing yourself

Not all of us have a perfect memory. A person may remember your face and even your eye color but forget your name. So, if you’re not sure that your recipient remembers you well, remind them with a few details about your acquaintance. Introducing yourself is the first and critical step in our guide on how to write a letter to a friend.

• Poor punctuation

We know that commas might be tricky. Your friend is not your professor, but he or she still may notice your mistakes. They won’t blame you. However, you want to sound smart, right?

• Numerous complaints

Your friend is not your personal psychologist, right? You can share some sad news, but try not to focus on them. However, don’t hide any crucial news if they really matter.

• Too wordy

A friendly letter is not a novel. Limit your writing to 2-3 pages, and your friend will be grateful for saving his or her time. Also, use shorter sentences if possible in order to increase the readability of your letter.

• No signature

Although a letter to a friend is not a formal piece of writing, there is still some kind of etiquette you should follow. A closing phrase and signature are essential aspects of any letter, so don’t forget about them. In personal letters, you can use informal goodbyes, such as, “Missing you,” “XOXO,” “High five,” etc.

• Not proofreading

When you write a friendly letter, you don’t have the purpose of getting a higher score. However, it doesn’t mean that you can neglect grammar rules. As we’ve mentioned above, getting a letter is a great surprise nowadays. Try to make it perfect for your friend!

• Formal writing style

Before you start writing, try to recall your last conversation with the recipient. We doubt that you communicate like two gentlemen of the 18th century. Friendly letters have nothing to do with business or academic assignments. Your writing language should sound natural and sincere.

• Having no paragraph divisions

A friendly letter is not a piece of academic writing, but it still needs to be readable. For the comfort of your recipient, start a separate paragraph for every new topic. For example, in the first paragraph, you may explain why you’ve decided to write a letter. In the next paragraph, share some news, and so on.

Where to Find Creative Samples for a Friendly Letter

Another significant tip in our guide on how to write a letter to a friend is the use of samples. Take the time to do a little research and look for examples of quality writing. Carefully studying professional samples will make your writing cleaner and more literate, and its structure will become simple, understandable, and effective.

Creative samples are a great way to get inspired and find the right words for your friendly letter. They can help you structure your thoughts, provide ideas for what to say, and give you a sense of how to express yourself personally and engagingly. With the help of creative samples, you can create a special letter that will leave a lasting impression on the recipient and answer the question of how to write a letter to a friend effectively.

Now that we know why using inventive examples for welcoming letters is an excellent idea let’s look into where we can get our hands on some. You can always use our service if you need to write a professional letter or you just decide to pay for someone to write your essay.

• Pinterest: Pinterest is a great place to look for inventive letter examples, including welcoming letter examples. You can use the search bar to look for terms like “friendly letter samples” or “letter writing inspiration” and click through to bookmarks and pages that provide advice, examples, and templates. Moreover, you can make your page and save the examples that speak to you the most.
• Writing Blogs: There is no shortage of websites that can help you become a better writer, including in your letter writing. For your creative motivation, many of these sites offer complimentary examples of different types of welcoming emails that you can use. Grammarly, The Write Practice, and Daily Writing Tips are just a few of the most well-read websites for writers.
• Online Writing Communities: Wattpad and Scribophile are two examples of online writing groups where you can interact with other authors and receive constructive criticism. Letter writings are frequently discussed in these communities, with members sharing examples and offering feedback on one another’s work. Help with letter writing is available, as is browsing the site for ideas.
• Letter Writing Books: You can find a wealth of information on letter writing, including polite notes, in several publications. Check out Margaret Shepherd’s “The Art of Letter Writing,” Mary S. Schaeffer’s “How to Write Letters: A Guide for the Perplexed,” and other famous works on letter writing.
• Social Media: Finally, social media sites like Instagram and Twitter can serve as beautiful springboards for composing warm and fuzzy notes to friends and loved ones. You can find articles and accounts that provide advice, ideas, and inventive examples by searching for keywords like #letterwriting or #penpals. You can build a virtual pen pal network with other authors.

How to Write a Letter to a Friend: Sample Analyzed

No doubt, our guide is utterly useful. Still, the best way to explain something well is to give a good example, right? We totally support this idea! That’s why one of our talented writers has composed a friendly letter sample for our favorite readers. The writer has also added a few comments so that you understand the role of each letter section. You are welcome to use our text as a template for your own friendly letter.

Click on the images to see their full size.

Our guide is complete now. We are sure that you’ve got enough information on how to write an informal letter to a friend and can compose an impressive piece of personal writing. A friendly letter is an unusual way to share your feelings and emotions with the best friend, especially after a long time apart. Our PayforWriting team is always glad to share some tips and recommendations to simplify the writing process for you. Don’t hesitate to check out other guides and numerous well-written samples on our website! Don’t hesitate to check out our dissertation writing services and numerous well-written samples on our website!