A long time ago, when I was living in my favorite apartment behind a bamboo patch in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, I wrote my first love letter. It was a liquid hot afternoon, and I was sitting on my screened porch, enjoying my boredom, thinking that I was full up with the very thought of her. I drew a pretty cool heart on a piece of newsprint, rolled that into a manual typewriter, and then pecked out about 15 sentences. I took more than an hour. I had to. I couldn’t edit, and I couldn’t use Wite-Out. It worked too. That woman was happy。

　　很久以前，我住在亚拉巴马州塔斯卡卢萨市。有一天在我最喜欢的那套公寓里时，我写下了我的第一封情书。公寓在一片竹林后面。那是一个天气炎热的下午，阳光穿透竹林在门廊里留下许多斑点，我坐在门廊里无聊着，却满脑子里想的都是她。我在一张新闻用纸上画下了一颗相当漂亮的心，把它放进手动打印机里，然后打印出了大约15个句子。我花了一个多小时。这是必须的。我不能编辑，我也不能用修正液涂改。见效了。那个女人高兴了。

　　So happy that she stuck it on the door of her refrigerator, where it clung to a magnet-laden collage of birthday cards, Easter cards, thinking-of-you cards. This irked me. “It’s a love letter,” I told her. “It’s only for you. You’re supposed to save it. It’s supposed to be folded up in a book somewhere。” She didn’t get it. She treated it like a card。

　　她很开心，于是她把情书贴在冰箱门上。冰箱门上贴满了生日贺卡、复活节卡片和思念卡，它们仿佛组成了一幅拼图。这个让我很恼火。我对她说：“这是一封情书。只写给你一个人的情书。你应该保存它。它应该夹在一本书里什么的。” 她不听。她把情书当一张明信片一样对待了。

　　When writing a love letter, remember: It's not a card. It's a letter。

　　在写情书的时候，记住：它不是明信片。它是一封信。

　　First, sit. Letters take time。

　　首先，坐下。写信是要花时间的

　　Letters have a rhythm. Letters must be written, and writing takes a while. Three lines can’t do the work of three paragraphs. This is not to say your letter must be long. Three paragraphs can do the work of three pages. Just give them some time。

　　情书是有韵律的。情书应该是书写出来的，而写信要花点时间。三行文字的情书是不能和三段文字的情书相提并论的。这不是说你的情书一定要长。三段也可以起到三页的作用。花些时间吧。

　　Be loyal to the past you share。

　　认真分享的往事

　　If your love emerged on a kayak trip, then you don’t just mention that experience — you make it. Let the river become your palette. Tell a story that only the two of you know. Or narrate a moment in which she was unaware that you were watching her. Use detail to show what you remember and that you remember。

　　如果你是在一次独木舟之旅遇到你的爱情的，那么你就不要只提那次经历了，让那条河流成为你的调色板，在你的笔下再创造一次那样的经历。讲述一个只有你们两个人知道的故事。或者描述一个她没有留意到你在注视着她的时刻。使用细节来展示你记住的美丽往事。

　　Let the example precede sentiment。

　　先举例后动情

　　A good love letter declares itself plainly, then illustrates particularly. “I saw you watching the men play chess in the park. So quiet. I love the way you look at things。” Show her what you love in her before you tell her what you love in her. Show, then tell。

　　一封好的情书本身既能简单地说明，也能具体地描述。“我看到你在公园里看他们下国际象棋。很安静。我喜欢你看东西时的那种表现。”在你告诉她哪些方面惹你喜欢之前，先向她展现你喜欢她的那些地方。先展示，然后再说。

　　Don’t repeat yourself。

　　不要老重复

　　Emotional declarations matter more if you space them a little. Even in a short letter, you must create room. With love, there’s value in scarcity. That’s why it feels like such a jackpot。

　　情绪表达更重要，如果你给它们腾出一点空间的话。即使是在一封简短的情书里，你必须要创造出空间。有了爱，贫乏中也会有价值。这也是最吸引人的地方，那感觉就像中了头彩一样。

　　Most of all, remember that it’s private。

　　最重要的是，记住，情书是私信

　　Say something that surprises you about yourself. Let her know that she is redefining your terms. In this way most, a love letter is like love itself. There must be risk。

　　说一些能让自己惊喜的关于自己的事情。让她知道她要去重新认识你。这样的话，情书更像是恋爱，有一定的风险。