Scripting vs the love letter method: which should you write?
Both are long-form writing rather than counting lines. Scripting is a page about your life in the present tense, written as your future self. The love letter method is a letter written in someone else's voice, saying the thing you most want to hear. Scripting is you describing. The letter is someone else telling you.
The two, side by side
| What it asks of you | Scripting | Love letter method |
|---|---|---|
| Lines you write a day | No writing | No writing |
| How long it runs | Your own pace | Your own pace |
| When you do it | Any time | Any time |
| What you need | Pen and paper | Pen and paper |
Write a script if
Scripting is usually one page: a diary entry from your future self, or a thank you letter for something that already arrived, all of it in the present tense.
- You want to describe the whole scene, not one sentence in it.
- Writing in your own voice comes naturally to you.
- You want something you can reread and edit as the picture sharpens.
- Your intention is a life rather than a person.
Write a love letter if
The love letter method is a letter to you, written in another voice: the person you want, the universe, or your future self. You write what you most want to hear, then reread it.
- There is a specific sentence you have been waiting to hear from someone.
- Writing about yourself in your own voice feels stiff or boastful.
- You want the practice to land emotionally, not just describe accurately.
- Your intention is about a relationship or about being wanted.
Can you do both?
Common questions
About a page is normal. Long enough to build a scene, short enough that you will write another one tomorrow. The scripting guide has a template to start from.