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I’m writing a comedy story that shows my two characters moving to the brink of tragedy and then, ultimately, to reconciliation. The tale is based on a series of emails between a football mad guy and his wife, within which they quarrel catastrophically.

The essence is that France's FIFA World Cup Semi-Final match against Belgium is on/at the same day and time (Tuesday, 7pm) as the football fan’s child's school play.

In the story, my character innocently (in his mind) begins the hostilities by sending an email to his wife apologising for not being able to attend his son's school play. What I’m struggling with is the format of this crucial email.

So, my question is: how do I go about researching the format of an apology email?

F1Krazy
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robertcday
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    Are you asking us how to politely tell a family member that you won't be attending their wedding because you want to watch a sports event instead? – user Jul 04 '18 at 14:11
  • Of course not, @Michael (shocked expression). One potential use of this would be to email Gareth Southgate to apologise for not watching the match because I would be attending a beloved family member's wedding! – robertcday Jul 04 '18 at 14:15
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    I didn't know where to start answering your question, so I googled "how to write apology letter". Two of my first results: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/apology-letter/ and https://www.wikihow.com/Write-an-Apology-Letter. I guess you've done the same search and already found those, and they weren't helpful, so could you perhaps add where specifically your problem is with writing the letter? – Galastel supports GoFundMonica Jul 04 '18 at 14:19
  • @Galastel - the first was TLRD and the second was written by someone who seemed to be Taking the Mick. Just looking for something simple and easy to digest. – robertcday Jul 04 '18 at 14:28
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    @robertcday Your "in particular" wasn't particularly illuminating then in terms of what you actually want to say in that e-mail. Consider editing. – user Jul 04 '18 at 14:28
  • Either interpretation of the given example is illustrative of my requirements here, @Michael, but answers should be general and not confined to the situation induced by the conjunction of these happy occasions. – robertcday Jul 04 '18 at 14:43
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    If this question is 'off-topic' then why is https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/1284/how-to-write-a-polite-reminder-email?rq=1 not off-topic? – robertcday Jul 05 '18 at 09:29
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    @robertcday Perhaps because that question was asked over seven years ago, site standards have changed since, and no one has been bothered enough by that question's existence to push it into the review queues? Note that both meta discussions linked to in the "what to write" close reason are more recent than that question. (Dec 2011 and May 2012, respectively, compared to Feb 2011.) – user Jul 05 '18 at 10:18
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    That makes sense, @Michael - thanks. I was thinking earlier that I would like to delete the question, but when I try, I get this message: "We do not recommend deleting questions with answers because doing so deprives future readers of this knowledge. Repeated deletion of answered questions can result in your account being blocked from asking. Are you sure you wish to delete?" This would be the first time I have deleted an answered question, but I don't want to be blocked in the future. Do you think that my positive contributions outweigh the cost of those questions which were poorly received. – robertcday Jul 05 '18 at 10:56
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    Apologies to all, but this question has to go. Still, it's taught me something about what kinds of questions not to ask (asking what to write) and to rein in my warped sense of humour a tad. ;) Oh wait - cancel that. It won't let me delete. Hey-ho. :) – robertcday Jul 05 '18 at 12:52
  • @Michael - sorry to have caused problems here - I've rewritten the question so that it is (hopefully) now on-topic for this community. – robertcday Jul 05 '18 at 14:29
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    @robertcday No problems; asking why a seemingly-similar question is apparently on topic and another is not is fine. Just check the dates next time. :) This question is currently in reopen review. – user Jul 05 '18 at 15:48

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Have you seen this website? It's for writing all sorts of apology letters/emails, and it has formal apology letters and personal apology letters: https://www.apologyletters.net/

How about this one from the website? (I changed some sentences a bit.)

Dear {Name},

I received your invitation and am so honored to be included among the people you want to celebrate your marriage with. Unfortunately, I will be unable to attending the wedding due to {reason}.

I'm so sorry to miss your joyful day. I know that your wedding will be perfect and I'm so happy for you. Congratulations, and I wish you all the best!

Sincerly,

{Your name}.

  • The question used this example in a humorous way, but the real intention is still to write an apology email. As this site is about writing, not deciding what to do, this answer was flagged as "not-an-answer". Your information might be a nice addition, but please [edit] it to answer the question about writing an apology email or this might get deleted. – Secespitus Jul 05 '18 at 07:27
  • Done, @Secespitus. :) –  Jul 05 '18 at 07:57
  • Hi, @Cate - I'm looking for a more general apology, not one that applies to just one circumstance. I've removed the example from my question because it seems to have blindsided so many people. Apologies for the inconvenience. – robertcday Jul 05 '18 at 08:32
  • Oh, okay. Did you have a look into the website? Because the website has a lot of helpful apology messages. –  Jul 05 '18 at 08:44
  • While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. - From Review – Galastel supports GoFundMonica Jul 05 '18 at 09:00
  • Didn't know that. I'll keep that in mind next time. (I don't think the website page will change, but never mind.) Thanks for telling me anyway @Galastel! –  Jul 05 '18 at 09:06
  • Apologies @Cate, but this question has to go. Still, it's taught me something about what kinds of questions not to ask (asking what to write) and to rein in my warped sense of humour a tad. ;) Oh wait - cancel that. It won't let me delete because there's an answer on it. Hey-ho. :) – robertcday Jul 05 '18 at 12:52
  • That's okay, @robertcday! I've also asked a couple of bad questions a few times as well! :) Maybe your post might help some people looking for the same thing. –  Jul 06 '18 at 01:28