The following post is from Purposeful Prose’s own guest writer, Chartres Royal, specifically on writing letters and letter etiquette. While many consider letter writing a dying form, we have discussed this point. Our conclusion is that letter writing is neither dying nor dead. Letter writing has taken on different forms, and expectations around letters have changed with time and culture. The modern connotation of the “letter” is usually tied to professional correspondence or

Dear Purposeful Prose, I’ve stopped reading books as much because it’s hard to pay attention through reading, and when I am paying attention, the books give or show me too many ideas. I wouldn’t use them in my own writing, but I want to come up with my own ideas. A lot of writing communities I’ve said this in have gotten angry about this and said I’m not a “real writer,” and it’s gotten to me. I’m not sure what to do. To begin by answering the question directly, existing wor

Dear Purposeful Prose, As an author and reader, my algorithms have taken great pains to emphasize the 120 books in a year celebration. Of course, social media is as social media does. Reading has turned into a contest or something to count. On the other side of things, as an author, I’m finding a lot of issues with this discussion that a lot of people aren’t talking about. I’ve written self-help, and I’ve written fictionalized accounts inspired by events from my childhood. I