The Writer's Desk Book / Being a Reference Volume upon Questions of Punctuation, Capitalization, Spelling, Division of Words, Indention, Spacing, Italics, Abbreviations, Accents, Numerals, Faulty Diction, Letter Writing, Postal Regulations, Etc.

by William Dana Orcutt

LETTER WRITING

ALTHOUGH it is quite improbable that there will ever be a return to the painstaking, literary art of letter writing, of which we have so many admirable examples in the past, the value of the art as a medium of expressing personality must always be recognized. The force of business competition has introduced short-cuts in business correspondence which are regrettable from a literary standpoint; the universal use of the typewriter has altered conditions; the multiplicity of social demands makes impossible the leisurely written and carefully considered letters between friends which used to be a valued expression of friendship itself. These changes in conditions have been inevitable, but they do not explain the carelessness and the evidences of ignorance of even simple rules of expression and ar­range­ment which are too frequently apparent in the letters even of those whose position in life demands more, in this respect, than they seem able or willing to give. For this reason the present writer does not hesitate to resort to elementary outlines in making clear the basis upon which the art of letter writing rests. {115}