5 Writing Tips for the Ultimate Valentine from WWI Love Letters

These tips gleaned from the real-life letters of WWI soldiers and their loved ones will help you write one for the ages.

As we head into Valentine’s Day weekend, what to write in a card to your S.O. and other loved ones is top of mind. You can turn to famous love letters for inspiration, but there’s another trove of love letter-writing wisdom you’re most likely overlooking: The National WWI Museum and Memorial’s collection of wartime love letters.

“There’s something absolutely wonderful about being able to tell the story of a time of global conflict through the eyes of somebody in love,” says Lora Vogt, museum curator and vice president of education and interpretation. “You see the richness and the fullness of life, because they managed to take the time to share that with pen and paper.”

(The National WWI Museum and Memorial)

Some of their love stories would go on to last a lifetime; others were brief. Sometimes lives were cut tragically short. But, “we still get to hold on to the beauty of that moment,” Lora says, noting that we often forget history is not just the big things. “The relationships, the love, the families that we build, the friendships that we have. That’s so much of what life and history is actually made up of.”

So make your own history this Valentine’s Day weekend. “Take the five minutes,” Lora says, whether you write an actual letter on paper or send a text or video. The following tips gleaned from the century-old letters between WWI servicemen and women and their loved ones will help you write one for the ages.

Pepper in terms of endearment

It might be a shortened pet name based on a person’s actual name or “something with a whole other story behind it, kind of a sweet wink and an eye,” Lora says. And don’t be afraid to pile them on. She points to a letter from a systemist stationed in Siberia.

“He’s writing to his wife, and he has so many lovely pet names: my love, my dear, my truest. You can just see that there’s this closeness, this reaffirming of bonds just in one word. Even though we don’t know the rest of the story, you can tell in that sweet sense of familiarity. It’s a way to remind, even while they’re so far apart, that they are, in fact, still so close.”

(The National WWI Museum and Memorial)

Lean in to poetic language

Take a page from the book of Dr. Charles Glen Irons, a dentist serving in Russia. He wrote nearly every day to his wife and daughter in Chicago, and his collection of letters is one of Lora’s favorites. He filled his letters with emotion and poetic imagery, interspersed with talking about his day and asking questions about what his wife had done in hers. Often, he signed off with the poignant line, “With oceans and oceans of love and a kiss on each wave.”

→ Read the entire article on the Country Living website.
External Web Site Notice: This page contains information directly presented from an external source. The terms and conditions of this page may not be the same as those of this website. Click here to read the full disclaimer notice for external web sites. Thank you.