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50 letter writing prompts for pen pals

For when you know you want to write, but don't know where to start.

The best pen pal letters start with something specific and real. These prompts give you a way in, a concrete thing to write about that naturally leads somewhere more interesting.

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The prompts

Questions: 50

First contact

1Write about the last time something genuinely surprised you.
2Describe the view from your window, what does it tell someone about where you live?
3Write about a habit you have that you suspect is unusual.
4Describe a place in your city that a tourist would never find.
5Write about something you changed your mind about in the last year.
6Describe a sound that is particular to where you live.
7Write about the last thing you made with your hands.
8Describe a conversation you have been thinking about long after it ended.
9Write about something you learned recently that genuinely interested you.
10Describe your relationship with the language you are writing in.

After a few letters

1Write about a choice you made that turned out better than you expected.
2Describe a place that matters to you but means nothing to anyone else.
3Write about something you find impossible to explain to people who did not grow up where you did.
4Describe a small ritual that structures your day.
5Write about a book, film, or song that made you see something differently.
6Describe what home means to you right now.
7Write about a skill you are trying to develop and why it is harder than you expected.
8Describe the best conversation you have had recently.
9Write about something you are looking forward to.
10Describe a problem you are thinking about that has no obvious solution.

Going deeper

1Write about something you believed when you were younger that you no longer believe.
2Describe the way time feels different depending on what you are doing.
3Write about a version of your life that almost happened.
4Describe someone who shaped how you think without ever intending to.
5Write about what you find genuinely difficult.
6Describe what you think about when you cannot sleep.
7Write about the gap between how you appear to others and how you feel inside.
8Describe something you have never told anyone and why you have not.
9Write about what you are afraid of losing.
10Describe what you hope someone who knows you well would say about you.

Cultural exchange

1Describe a meal that means something to you, not just what it is, but what it represents.
2Write about a celebration or ritual in your culture that is hard to explain from the outside.
3Describe how the place you grew up shaped how you think about time.
4Write about a value you were raised with that you now question.
5Describe something about your country that you are proud of and something you wish were different.
6Write about the relationship between your generation and the one before it.
7Describe a piece of language, a word, phrase, or idiom, that has no good equivalent elsewhere.
8Write about what a stranger in your city gets wrong about what it is like to live there.
9Describe the difference between being a tourist somewhere and actually living there.
10Write about something that is normal where you live but seems strange to outsiders.

Short and specific

1Write three things you noticed today that you would not normally notice.
2Describe your morning in five sentences.
3Write about one decision you made this week, however small.
4Describe a colour, not what it looks like, but what it reminds you of.
5Write one question you want to ask someone but have not asked yet.
6Describe a smell and what it reminds you of.
7Write about the last time you felt genuinely curious about something.
8Describe a word in your language that you love and why.
9Write about something you did recently for the first time.
10Describe the weather where you are right now and how it affects you.

Tips

How to use a prompt

1

The best prompts are the ones that make you want to write more than a paragraph. If a prompt only gives you one sentence, try the next one.

2

Use a prompt as a way in, not as a constraint. Once you have written three sentences, you can go wherever the letter wants to go.

3

Short, specific prompts often produce longer letters than big, open ones. 'Describe the view from your window' gets further than 'tell me about your life.'

4

If you are stuck mid-letter, return to a prompt. Pick the one that feels least relevant, the tension is often where the most interesting writing comes from.

5

Include the prompt at the top of your letter so your pen pal knows what sparked it. They might want to respond to the same prompt.

Frequently asked questions

What is a letter writing prompt?

A letter writing prompt is a short sentence or question designed to give you a starting point. Rather than staring at a blank page, you respond to the prompt, and usually the letter writes itself from there.

How do you start a letter when you don't know what to say?

Start with something concrete and specific. 'I noticed something today' or 'I changed my mind about something this week' gives you a thread to pull. The easiest letters to write are about specific things that actually happened, not general descriptions of your life.

How long should a pen pal letter be?

As long as it takes to say what you want to say, and no longer. A focused 200-word letter is better than a padded 800-word one. If you wrote from a prompt, the letter is usually the right length when you reach the end of that thought.

How often should you write to a pen pal?

Often enough to keep the conversation alive, rarely enough that you have something to say. For most pen pals, once or twice a month feels natural. Quality matters far more than frequency.

Find someone to write to

Slowletter matches you with a pen pal who is genuinely interested in the same kind of correspondence you want. Write something real, the right person will write back.