A letter is considered by the author to be a normative text with all its peculiarities and characteristics. The interrelations between the individual style and generally accepted standards of the epistolary heritage of France in the 18th centuries, the possibilities and ways of avoiding the normative stock phrases in letters are analysed. The analysis of the character and motives of the influence of an addresser's individuality on the addressee is given. The article can be interesting for those, who want to master the art of the epistolary intercourse.