How to Write a Love Letter to a Family Member

Handwritten letters have become a dying art with the advent of email. Now, instead of taking the time to sit down with a pen and paper and actually writing a letter to a friend or family member, it's so much easier to open up an email and jot a couple of sentences and hit "Send."

Love letters have especially become fewer and farther between because of this. What once created a special bond between lovers has now been replaced with brief text messages and phone calls.

If you want to kindle the romance in your life, writing a love letter to your significant other is a really great way to do so. All you need is a few minutes and some sincere words from the heart. Here are some tips to help you start writing love letters that will spark the flame in your relationship again.

If you've never written a love letter before, it might feel a little strange the first time you do it. You might not even enjoy writing it, and want to crumple it up and throw it away--don't! Your sweetie will love you for this and will treasure it forever.

Don't rush it.

First, before you even begin writing your love letter, you have to be in the right frame of mind. If you aren't really in the mood to write, or you don't have time, there is no point in even trying to make yourself do it right now. Wait until you have plenty of free time so you won't feel rushed to get through it.

Choose a nice paper and complementary ink.

In all truthfulness, a love letter could be written on a scrap of paper. In fact, some of the best love letters were scrawled against paper napkins and on the backs of store receipts. When you start out, try to make an effort to make your letter look nice, though. Or, if you have plain lined paper and are creative, you could even doodle art in the sidelines as well.

Think about the message you want to convey.

When you think about the love of your life, how do you feel? What comes to mind? Do you feel fluttery inside? Do you automatically smile? Hold onto those feelings and think about the message you want to come forth in your love letter. If this would be your last opportunity to say the nicest things you could ever say to your lover, what would those things be?

Write your love letter from the heart.

Don't hold anything back. Write your message sincere and from the heart. Express your true feelings toward him or her. Tell your loved one how much they mean to you and how much you love them. A really nice thing to do is to pick out a specific incident or reason why you love them so much and write about that. Recall the time they did something nice for someone else, and how proud you were of them for it. Talk about all the wonderful things they do that you are thankful for. Pull out all the stops and draw from the reserves. Don't leave anything out.

Still struggling with what to write about in your love letter? Go through this list of things to write about and see if something sparks an idea to help you get starting writing your letter.

• Write about the day you first met each other. What attracted you to her/him?
• Write about your first date.
• Write about your future. What dreams do you have for your life together?
• Write about a quality you like in him/her.
• Write about something nice you'd like to do together soon.