The other day I saw a suggestion from WordPress saying that a post in letter form could make for good writing. This was actually something I’d been looking to do for a while, and it explains why I sign each post “Mason”. I like to think that someone can see that and feel like I’ve written to them personally and made a connection to my audience of some sort. Any one reader could feel like I’ve been pouring my thoughts and emotions out to them and nobody else.

In the days leading up to the EU referendum, I accepted a Remain poster from a campaigner on the street near where I work. I took it with me into the office, having come back from my lunch break, and when one of my colleagues saw it they asked “you’ve been flyered, have you?” “Flyered”, as far as I know, isn’t a real word, but I liked it and thought that maybe it should be. It makes me think of an instant burst of information thrust into my hands by someone passionate about it, and with anything I write – in any form – I’d like to think I convey the same kind of enthusiasm. The fact that I am so intrigued by creating a personal connection with each reader and so unfazed about coming clean where emotions are concerned must mean that I would have no qualms about writing a letter here, right?

Wrong. I have found, especially recently, that being so open in that way has caused me more problems than relief. There are many people I’d address such a post to – one of those that I haven’t seen in a while, perhaps, or someone I’d like to make amends with after a period of separation. I think the latter is what I want to write the most, but I’m well aware of the dangers. I think of myself as a very sensitive guy, and am quite simply worried that I will be too sincere and too heartfelt (not in a nasty way, but a soppy one) to make my letter effective. Maybe I would scare this person if I was too forward – I might inadvertently end up “flyering” them! The key, if I ever were to do this, would therefore be to think very carefully about the words used – something I think every blog post helps me with. If I turned each of them into speeches and spoke them in front of an audience, I’d quite simply never get anything out. They’d all be a total muddle!

Mason