Presents a practical guide to expanding and refining writing skills.

"Sankovitch goes on a quest through the history of letters to discover and celebrate what is special about the handwritten letter, examining not only historical letters but also the letters in epistolary novels, her husband's love letters, and dozens more sources. Sankovitch reminds us that the letters we write are as important as the ones we wait for"--

"One of the biggest problem areas for writers is conveying emotion to the reader in a unique, compelling way. When showing our characters' feelings, we often grab onto the first idea that comes to mind, and our characters end up smiling, shrugging, nodding, and frowning far too much. Need some inspiration to get you beyond the basics? Inside The Emotion Thesaurus, you'll find: emotion entires that list body language, thoughts, and visceral responses...