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Most open letters undoubtedly come from a good place, rising out of genuine outrage or concern or care. There is, admittedly, also a smugness to most open letters: a sense that we, as the writers of such letters, know better than those to whom the letters are addressed. We will impart our opinions to you, with or without your consent.

It would be easy to assume that the open letter is a symptom of the Internet age. Such is not the case. In 1774, Benjamin Franklin wrote an open letter to the prime minister of Great Britain, Lord North - a satirical call for the imposition of martial law in the colonies.

The open letter has always been an interesting rhetorical strategy - a way of delivering a pointed message to a specific individual or group while also reaching a wide audience.

On the Internet, everyone is writing. There is a great flowering of writing.

The thing about the Internet is that you can write something... for a very narrow audience and make a living at it.

I get wonderful letters from kids and teachers. I must have the best readers in the world.

Letters are something from you. It's a different kind of intention than writing an e-mail.

I think well-read people - the world is open to them.

The Internet is a limitless library at your fingertips. It's a great place to start with the acquisition of knowledge. My process is to go to a place when I'm writing about it. Nothing captures the essence, feeling and flavor of a place better than when I'm actually there and doing the writing.

I write what I'd like to read and just hope that, along the way, others might like to read them, too.