No longer do we find ourselves expressing love through long handwritten letters tied with ribbons or secured with little hearts. Today’s culture expresses true love by the seemingly one and only communication method-the text message. For some less experienced texters, it may seem impossible to be romantic with such a short, choppy text, but real texters know how powerful a couple of lines can be. It’s not uncommon for lovers to cling to their phones, waiting for a text message from that special someone. A single text message can make or break someone’s day.

A text message in the middle of the day lets your wife know you’re thinking of her even when you’re working. It tells your boyfriend that he’s important to you. It makes your girlfriend feel like a million bucks because you remembered her interview at 10 o’clock. It helps your husband get through another work day.

If you’re a romantic and you want to express your love for someone through a text message, it’s really quite simple. Intend to be honest as you write and think of ways to express powerfully but concisely. Anything you could say in person or in a handwritten letter, you can say through a text message. You only have a small amount of space, though, so no need for any filler. Get right to the point.

“I love you” (or if you want to be a true texter, “i luv u”) goes a long way in any relationship. Receiving a text like that can touch some more than you ever thought possible with three words.

Try some of these romantic text ideas:

“To the world, you may be one person. But to me, you are the world!”

“I love you because….. fill in the blank.”

“ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTVWXYZ…what is missing? Im missing U!!!”

You can also get incredibly creative with romantic text messages. Some ideas might be creating a scavenger hunt and sending text messages at scheduled intervals throughout the day to send your beloved on a hunt for little gifts or notes. You could text a meeting place and time for a romantic dinner, a couple of lines of mushy poetry, or something that made you think of him or her.

Text messages are certainly the in-thing for expressing love and building romantic relationships, but there still is nothing compared to a handwritten letter with an actual stamp or a candlelight dinner for two where you can quote some rehearsed lines or express your sincere love. Go right ahead and send those text messages, but don’t hesitate to take some extra time and energy to do something romantically old-fashioned as well. You might just win your beloved’s heart for the rest of time.