In 2007 Donovan Beeson and Kathy Zadrozny founded the Letter Writers Alliance, a Chicago-based organization dedicated to reviving that ancient art: letter-writing.

During the Do-Division Fest, the two set up camp in Renegade Handmade’s shop (1924 W. Division St.) to offer customers the chance to write or type some letters of their own.

They also offered a few tips for people who are interested in sending more letters but may be a little intimidated:

1) Try to get over that intimidation — once you get started, it’s not scary.

2) If you’re wondering who to write to, start with family members. “It’s like getting a hug in the mail for 44 cents,” Beeson said.

3) It doesn’t have to be much. “You could send a postcard and say, ‘Hey, I’m thinking about you. Hope everything’s good,’ ” Zadrozny said. It doesn’t have to be a tome; it’s just so the person knows you’re thinking of them.”

4) If you want to buy a typewriter, there’s a good selection on eBay. But, suggests Zadrozny, if you choose to buy a typewriter off eBay, make sure there is writing sample — something representative of all the letters, so you can see if anything wrong with the keys.

5) If your handwriting is messy and you’re not sure about the whole “typewriter” thing, you can use your computer. It’s just about “sending someone a physical object that is representative of that point in your life,” Beeson said. “They’re historical. You can save them. They can created this valued legacy that you’re leaving behind.”

6) If you can’t think of anything to write about, write the senses: what you’re hearing, what you’re smelling. “It puts that person when they’re reading it right where you were,” Zadrozny said. “Send a little piece of yourself to that person.”

7) Finally, if you want a letter, you need to write one. Write a letter, get a letter. “We call that the covenant,” Beeson said.