Part 3, Section 5, Letters Summary and Analysis

Similar in theme to writing one inch or as a Polaroid from previous chapters, Anne suggests writing a letter. The letter should be from the character and detail an event, time or occurrence of the story. It can be addressed to someone familiar to the writer or from one character to another. The point Anne is making is to escape the confines of the story format.

Writing an assignment for a magazine helped Anne discover the power of letters as a writing technique. The topic is her lifelong devotion to the San Francisco Giants baseball team. Upon receiving the assignment, Anne immediately enters the well-documented neuroses and self doubt detailed from earlier chapters. Anne simply cannot think of anything to write so she decides to write a letter to her son Sam. As the letter unfolds, Anne...