If you’re wondering how to write an epistolary story—or maybe wondering what the heck one is—I’ve got you covered. Epistolaries are stories told in the form of many smaller texts or documents. What I mean is, they’re stories told through fictional letters, diary entries, and similar writings. They’re a great way to get creative with your fiction writing formats.

You probably know a few famous epistolaries. For example, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is one told through letters. Steven King’s Carrie is another. Gilliam Flynn’s Gone Girl is also partially an epistolary, with important diary entries. A lot of famous writers use this technique in their stories. So it’s definitely not just something for weird artsy stories (though it’s great for those, too!).

Unique fiction writing formats like epistolaries aren’t just a gimmick—they can help free a story constrained by the typical prose format. Also, they can inspire you to make a story idea inventive enough to match their form. Epistolaries can make your story more creative.

Tips on How to Write an Epistolary

Pick the Fiction Writing Format That Best Matches Your Story

You have to choose the kind of epistolary that complements your story idea. You also don’t want to pick one that makes no sense at all.

For example, love letters exchanged between pining lovers make for a beautiful story. This format allows you to capture the character’s feelings for each other in their own painstakingly crafted words.

But, it’s a little unusual to have a contemporary romance story set in America told through letters. Most of us don’t write letters by hand anymore. You could give your characters a really good reason that makes sense in your story, like being longtime pen pals or located in an area with zero internet service next to a post office. But instead, you should probably pick a different type of epistolary. In this case, text messages or emails might make more sense for your lovers.

Maybe you want to tell your crime story in the form of newspaper clippings. This could be a really cool way to tell a story focused on a journalist, by giving readers the articles that they write. But remember to think: Will your readers be bored by the kind of professional tones newspaper use? Would they prefer something more flavorful like a diary entry or maybe a traditional first-person narrative?

Make sure the epistolary format you choose works with your story, not against it.

Follow the Text Writer’s POV

When you write an epistolary, you are writing from the perspective of a fictional character who is writing a text. Even if the writers of the texts that make up your story aren’t actually characters in it (for example, if you choose to use newspaper clippings but the reporters are not involved), you must write “their” text from their point of view.

When a character writes in their diary, they do it in the first person, and head-hopping is not an option. You have to write their diary entries from their perspective.

Letters are written by one character and usually directed to another. So you have to get in their heads as you decide what person A is going to write person B. You can’t really use your own words or act as an omniscient narrator at all.

Whatever your format, you have to envision the text as a character, as your narrator, and follow their POV.

Photo by Dominika Roseclay from Pexels

Don’t Go Overboard With the Writing Format

One thing you might need to do when writing an epistolary is not get bogged down by realism and details associated with the format. Of course, little bits of realism and a sprinkling of details are what can make an epistolary great, but it’s easy to overdo it.

For example, when writing a letter exchange, you’ll probably want to leave the signoffs and greetings like “Dear A” and “Warm Regards, B.” But you don’t need to include the fictional mailing addresses on the envelope or postage details. Also, there’s little need to calculate how much your characters must be paying in postage or how they share addresses after moving. Focus on the story the letters tell, not the minutiae.

This goes for any kind of text. Emails don’t need time stamps or addresses. News articles don’t need advertisements. Include formatting details you have a reason for or that complement the text, but otherwise, skip them.

You Can Blend Epistolaries and Other Styles

Just because you choose to write a certain kind of epistolary doesn’t mean you are confined to it. You can blend epistolaries with traditional prose narratively easily. Also, it’s really fun to include multiple kinds of text in your epistolary.

You could start your story with a character deciding to investigate something in a typical prose fashion. You could then show all the evidence they dig up in the form of news articles, magazine stories, police reports, case files, and more. Then after showing the reader all these, you could wrap up the story with the detective revealing their conclusions from the evidence.

You could start a story with one character writing a letter to their lover, and then dive into the story with prose. You could frame your story effectively by having it end with another letter, showing exactly how much has changed for the lovers. Maybe this time the second character writes to the first, replying to the first letter and revealing how much has changed for them.

This can help you solve some sticky narrative problems, like if you have a character writing diary entries who dies before the end of the story. Switching to a police report or a narration after that point helps you keep the story going after a text writer can’t.

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

There’s no limit to the ways you can use epistolaries, which is why they’re a wonderful technique to play with and mix into your usual fiction writing formats.

Unique Kinds of Epistolary You Can Write

The great thing is, there are really endless ways how to write an epistolary. If you can think of something that is written, you can make it into an epistolary. So you have some great ideas, here’s a monumentally large list of things you make or add into stories:

1. Letters
2. Diaries
3. Newspaper Articles
4. Police Reports and Case Files
5. Blog Posts
6. Emails
7. Text Messages
8. Shopping Lists
9. Dear (Advice Columnist) Letters
10. How-to Articles
11. Chatroom Messages
12. Advertisements
13. Social Media Posts (Infinite options here!)
14. School Papers and Essays
15. Speeches
16. Professional Records (Think therapist’s or teacher’s notes.)
17. Magazine Articles
18. Product Descriptions
19. Daily Planner/Appointment Book
20. And More!

If it’s a text, you can work it into a story, and that story becomes an epistolary. There are so many inventive ways to add a little bit of epistolary to your story, and that will spice it up!

Unique fiction writing formats will wake your readers up. They can spark your creativity. They allow you tell stories in new ways. They provide a whole new interesting literary technique to play with in your stories. Epistolaries are a barrel of fun for writers and readers.

Have you ever written an epistolary story, or any kind of story told through other texts? If you were to, what kind of fiction writing format would you use? If so, let me know in the comments, and good luck writing!

Pin for Later if You Want to Remember This!

Mint Miller

Mint is a writer and digital marketing pro who lives in coastal Virginia with her family and one lovable pitbull. Her passions include helping people and businesses display their best side through the power of communication, buying her dog costumes he doesn’t want to wear, and talking all day about Batman.