Type first drafts of handwritten notes

How to get your sentiments right

I love handwritten notes. Emails and texts are great, but they can’t match the warmth and sense of care conveyed by a handwritten note of congratulations, sympathy, or good wishes. A thoughtful handwritten note might be treasured for years.

However, if you’re used to typing everything and being able to edit for clarity, length, and style, it can be difficult to get a handwritten note right on the first try. That can be a problem, because we want handwritten notes to feel special. I know a lot of people have messed up, and then needed to cross something out or start again on a new card and it can feel discouraging.

But there’s a simple solution to this problem: just type the first draft of your handwritten note. Draft your message in Word or Google Docs like you would any other bit of writing. Edit to make it sound right. Then, when you’re happy with the message, you can copy it by hand onto your stationery or a card. There’s no wasted time or stationery, and no risk of your handwriting getting messier by the draft. With a typed draft, you can get it right the first time on paper.

If you’re really clever, you might even save your typed document and re-use some of the basic sentiments for future notes. You’ve come up with a good way of expressing sympathy — one that feels authentic to you — so why not use that as the starting point for your next sympathy card? You can cut and paste and then write personal sentiments around it before copying by hand for your final draft.

When we were kids writing reports for school, we often hand wrote first drafts and then typed the final copy. But there’s no reason writing has to go in that order. If you type the first draft and edit electronically, then hand write the final copy, you’ll get the best of both worlds: the warmth of a handwritten card, but without all the crossed out false starts.