When you are passionate about something, it is common to feel a mixture of emotions. Anger is one of those if something didn’t work out as you expected. While you want to get your point across, your angry letter just doesn’t make sense. There is so much emotion that you jump from point to point and it is really difficult for the reader to understand. Here are some tips to write a coherent and effective angry letter.
Start Unedited
The first thing to do is just write the letter. Write it from the heart and put all the emotion into it. This will at least give you a starting point for the next steps.
Don’t edit your work while you write. The whole point of writing right now is to get everything off your chest so you don’t forget something. Editing puts a halt in your flow, and you run the risk of forgetting an important aspect.
Take a Step Back
There’s nothing wrong with emotion, but you need to take a step back from the situation.
This will give you the chance to look at the structure that you will take. Plan your letter out as you would as essay. You will be able to see where your points interlink and make sure you stick to the points that are really important to get your anger across.
Watch Out for the Language
While you may want to write as you speak, there are certain downsides to this. Not only do you run the risk of not writing your letter very professionally, but you can add language that is just not necessary.
Read through your letter and make sure you cut out all the swear words and any name calling. You can get your point across without all this.
Give It Time
Don’t expect your letter of complaint to be finished on the first day.
It can take time to get all the points you want across. Put it to one side for a day or two and then revisit it. During that time, you may come up with new ideas for your letter, which will help to emphasise the reason for the anger further.
Read Your Letter Aloud
When you read your letter in your head, you won’t get all the mistakes or problems within it. You need to read it aloud to yourself.
This will help you get the flow just right, and helps you catch any of the mistakes. You can also hear just how the wording sounds, and may find that there is a better way to phrase something.
Do You Really Need to Send It?
Now it’s time to decide what you really want to do with the letter. Is this something you really need to send to someone?
Some angry letters are a way to let your emotions out and not actually for the other person to read. When this is the case, rip it up or burn it and then move on from the situation.