If you are looking for how to start a letter, I would approach it one of two ways.

First is the formal discussion of how to write the letter itself and second is the contextual part.

They say that a business letter should be formatted differently than a personal one. But I think that this issue has become less crucial as time has gone by.

Personally, I justify everything to the left and forget about it.

The issue for most though is how to start.

And here is my trick.

If I am stuck, how we all sometimes get stuck, I simply pick one of two phrases:

1.”Speaking of…”
2.”X reminded me of…”

Speaking of football, last week I was watching a game and…
Speaking of foot pain, my doctor called me today…

Jerry reminded me of when we were…
The last hour of my road-trip this weekend reminded me of…

Flip a coin to pick between the two if you are still stuck. Because I think that sometimes the easiest way to start is with a little serendipity at play.

Here is a stupid example:

123 Slide
Lubbock, TX
79424

6 December 2018

Kevin,

Yesterday, watching football, I was reminded of our last phone call. I can not believe we have a new football coach. Anyway, I hope you are well. Let’s do lunch again soon. But seriously, what are we doing writing letters? I’ll just text you next time.

All the best,

Sterling