It amazes me how two people can express themselves so differently in writing, than they do in person. Why is there a discontinuity between the ‘real’ and the ‘writer’? Somehow the ability to communicate verbally causes people to trip over their thoughts. If they only had the extra time, then they could put together their ideas without the distraction of visual and audio stimuli. Then, maybe the two types of communication would be more similar.
I was watching “In the Good Old Summertime” (1949) with Judy Garland and it had a distinct similarity to the movie, “You’ve Got Mail” (1998). Later I discovered that both of these movies were remakes of the original movie, The Shop Around the Corner” (1940). I found it interesting to contrast the 1940’s hand-written letter communication to the modern-day e-mail, with the same kind of result.
These movies depict two people who disliked each other in person, but who fell in love through writing. I wonder how often people miss their perfect match in daily life for the same reason? They only see the ‘live’ version and not the letter-writer. Two people can be together day after day communicating ineffectively, yet two people living miles apart with no face-to-face meetings can create a very close connection through their writing. It is now clear to me why love letters of the past were so powerful. Who are you going to write a letter to today?
Quirky Contemplation 
Great post. Yes, I think you do relate to someone so differently in writing. It’s too bad the art of letter writing is so dead today. Thanks so much for commenting on my blog! all the best, Nina
A bit of a Cyrano de Bergerac theme as well?
Letter writing? What’s that? It sounds familiar, as if an echo from a distant past… I used to write letters. Long ones, too… 5-10 pages. (OK, those small pages, but I filled them, I tell ya!). I was even often complimented on the humor in my letters.
5-10 pages now? even the small ones? I dunno. That would be difficult. e-mail has ruined my skills in that area. I used to write long e-mails, but it only takes so many 2-sentence replies to realize that the game has changed. And don’t get me started on the 140-character Tweet! (although, the lady that has sent nothing but Twaiku since 2006 is to be commended!)