Writing more letters

I just finished reading a biography (of George MacDonald), and I couldn't help but notice how many letters were quoted from...letters not only to family and friends, but also letters to acquaintances and complete strangers.  Long letters, too, not just quick notes. And these letters were preserved for years.

It's a mystery to me how they found the time for all that writing, even without internet and television and other modern distractions.

I've noticed that email often doesn't work well for keeping in occasional touch with people...I feel too much pressure to reply promptly and efficiently, and to keep the conversation going for a bit.  With snailmail, there's some...latency?...built into the process; no one expects an immediate reply.

Anyway, it has become one of my goals to write real letters more often.