Writing love letters is an art form that has stood the test of time. From correspondence carried by messengers on foot, to scribbled classroom notes, to DM’s that make us blush—we just can’t seem to get enough of them.
Although Valentine’s Day has come and gone, here at ‘the university for the real world’ you can write a love letter at any time, for any reason, because love (and lust) simply cannot be contained to just one day of the year.
Has the cute barista been flirting with you every day of the week but you’re not sure if he’s just “really friendly” and you’re afraid to shoot your shot in person? Write a love letter.
Does the girl with the cool boots you always sit next to in your business lecture laugh a little too loudly at your lame jokes? Write a love letter.
Is there someone from your tutorials that is a bit mean but you’re kind of into it? Consider therapy. But also, maybe write a love letter.
This week, we reached out to the admins of QUT Love Letters to ask them for their advice for writing one. They’ve responded with useful tips for writing saucy, successful, and respectful letters. We hope this article helps you find love (but more so we hope your love letters keep us entertained during lunch breaks xx).
What do you think makes a good love letter?
Depth and personality. Making yourself stand out. You don’t necessarily need to be funny, but the essence of what makes you, well you, needs to come through in what you’re writing. Remember it is an anonymous format so no one knows what you look like, what your interests are, who you are, etc. The more successful love letters may be filled with wishy-washy stuff no one cares about, but the writing tells a story or conveys an element of personality.
Do you have a favourite QUT love letter?
#QUTLoveLetters931 is my favourite. It’s a very very graphical step-by-step guide on how to pleasure a woman with oral intercourse. For no reason other than its excruciating level of detail and immense effort put into writing it up. If you Google an excerpt of that love letter now, it comes up in r/copypasta on a date after it was posted here. Really impressive honestly.
What tips would you give on how to write a good love letter?
Know your audience and write to them. If you are out here writing a letter to your dearly beloved acquaintance confessing your love, keep that person in mind. Add some touches to make them know it’s from you. You should have an idea of what they like and the things they do. Use your context to your advantage.
If you’re writing to some random girl you saw, keep that in mind too. You don’t want to be talking about how great and perfect you are because you drive a fancy car. She will care much more about your character and your values. It’s near impossible to communicate that all through a letter, but people can read between the lines. Tone is very important.
Be authentically interesting in some way. Take this scenario: you’re a guy and you locked eyes with a really cute girl in the library, and she thought you were cute too. But we’re all young and horny so she thought the same about 10 other people. And so did you, don’t lie. Rather than sign your letter off with “from the guy wearing red shoes” make it memorable. If you’re a confident tall guy say something like “from the 7ft tall guy with a flawless jawline and Wizard of Oz red shoes” (crap example but anyway). If you’re a more shy introspective guy, sign off with something like “from the guy wearing red shoes who dropped his AirPods just so our eyes would meet again”. Scenario doesn’t matter. The point is you should add some razzle in there that still feels like you. Give the other person an idea of what to expect.
Most importantly, don’t put too much stock into it. Your chances of succeeding through here are unfortunately slim. May as well make it entertaining for the rest of us, because it will help your chances too.
What would you say people shouldn’t include in their love letters?
The obvious candidates are anything racist, sexist, etc. Further than that, steer away from guilt-tripping people, making everything all about yourself or being generally negative. Keep things light-hearted and positive. Tone is so important and when you write a love letter, people can feel and see your tone. It is deeper than what you are writing—it’s between the lines.
What do you wish people said more often in their love letters?
Raunchy stuff. Something risky. If you have an anonymous platform available to you where you can reach your intended audience, why be conservative with that? Say something outrageous and get their attention. In a sea of the most mid letters, don’t be afraid to stand out.
Are there any QUT love letter success stories that you know of?
I know of one couple who got married. They sent me photos of the proposal. I won’t share details but it was pretty cute. Crazy to think they met on the page so long ago and are now married.
Someone closer to my own life actually lives with their partner. They met on this page way back and are still together.
