PDA

View Full Version : Can I improvemy Penmanship?



Willieboy
December 27th, 2014, 08:02 PM
I have found that a nice pen and expensive paper do not help my penmanship. It is still awful. Is there a way I can improve? Should I buy a book, take a course, exercise my fingers or just hire somebody to write in my journals? Any ideas?

gbryal
December 27th, 2014, 08:55 PM
Come up with some specific goals. If you don't know why your handwriting is awful, find out. Spend some time comparing it to writing that you want to emulate.

Another thing, your best handwriting will be on a good surface at the right height, with enough space, with your arm free to move. One of the biggest issues with my own writing is resting my hand on the paper. Then my fingers move the pen to right until they can't move because of my hand resting there and I move on again. This results in inconsistent writing.

I would say a book or course would be useful if you are trying to pick up a complicated hand, but for something like Palmer, find some exemplars online and just copy that. Not just copy, but copy and reflect and troubleshoot.

KateGladstone
December 27th, 2014, 10:17 PM
Here are the resources that my handwriting students and I find most useful —
http://www.BFHhandwriting.com,
http://www.handwritingsuccess.com,
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/09/08/opinion/OPED-WRITING.1.pdf,
http://www.briem.net,
http://www.HandwritingThatWorks.com,
http://www.italic-handwriting.org,
http://www.studioarts.net/calligraphy/italic/hwlesson.html,
http://www.freehandwriting.net/educational.html

Tracy Lee
December 28th, 2014, 07:49 AM
Let me offer something simple. Practice. Everyday. Write every single day. I have nice (but not fancy) writing but I write a lot. I journal, I took notes by hand through school and now through everyday at work (despite having a tablet and laptop) and I write a ton of letters. Practice over time and repetition is the thing that really makes the difference. It is the rare person who is born writing beautifully the moment a writing instrument is placed in the hand. Don't give up, think of it as a journey and enjoy yourself. :-)

manoeuver
December 28th, 2014, 08:37 AM
Practice is paramount- it takes time to improve your handwriting.
You'll be doing yourself a huge favor if you do a couple things:
determine exactly what it is about your present handwriting that displeases you. "it's messy" isn't enough.

consistent spacing, consistent size and consistent letter shapes are the main contributors to good handwriting.
Figure out what your writing lacks and work on one thing at a time.

once you get started on that, find a style of writing you'd like to emulate and learn those letter shapes and start applying those to your writing.

you can improve anything, but you have to figure out what it's going to cost and then pay the price (in this case, time spent learning and some tedious practice.)
good luck!

caribbean_skye
December 28th, 2014, 09:16 AM
dont forget to slow down. be very intentional with every stroke. there are some letters or letter combos (even words) i dont like how they look or just want to improve so i not only slow down but will write that word, letter combo or letter over and over again until it feels natural. if you get a journal, notebook etc that you practise in, write the date as you're putting in your entries so that you can look back and see your progress.

Silverbreeze
December 28th, 2014, 09:33 AM
And if the mood hits, Write to people like, Tracy Lee, Skye and me. Sometimes having to write people makes it easier to practice then trying to find journal topics that you aren't totally bored out of your mind with.

Willieboy
December 28th, 2014, 06:18 PM
Thank you so much for all your advice folks. SilverBreeze, I remember having to keep a journal in college. My life was so boring and unremarkable I had to make things up to write about.

I'm almost seventy-years old and I have just started to keep a couple journals. I hope I don't offend anyone, but I am a Christian and I read the bible and pray every day. In one of my journals, I am writing my prayers. This practice is intended to help me concentrate and be more thoughtful and introspective.

I am right handed and as a child learning to write, I wrote with the natural slant of a right-hander. However, my writing never seemed to flow naturally. I was always drawing the letters and it just looked terrible. I also wrote too fast. Therefore, at an early age, I developed a back slant which caused me to slow down and take some time forming the letters. This was an improvement but, now that the back slant has become natural, I race right along and the result is sloppy looking. Obviously, I need to slow down.

I have also been exploring italic, as an alternative to the Palmer method. I got the idea from one of the links provided by KateGladstone. Thank you Kate. Writing in italic seems simple to do and easy to read. The transition from printing is easy and the absence of loops cleans the up script a bit. I'll keep plugging.

VertOlive
December 28th, 2014, 07:18 PM
My favorite site is the "Handwriting Repair" section of Operina.com; it's a nice place to start.

Yes! Pop on over to the pen pals threads and pm or post your address. We'd be happy to flood your mailbox with things you can write back to us about!

:rolleyes:

amk
December 29th, 2014, 04:03 AM
A few pieces of advice that could help.

RHYTHM. Practice loops, c's, o's, x's, s-shapes and figures of eight, between a ruled pair of lines, till you get a nice flowing rhythm and regular sized letters or shapes. That can also help relax your hand and wrist nicely if stiffness or gripping the pen too hard are causing cramped writing. Then go on to u's, n's, m's.

SLOW DOWN. Write out a sentence nice and slowly using a really wet nib. Don't let the death-grip get a hold though (always my vice when I'm writing slowly and deliberately).

BACK TO BASICS. The most difficult letters for me are the rounded ones - o is incredibly difficult because in each style of writing it has its particular nature, whether elongated oval or perfectly round, and if it's out by a bit, you notice. Okay, that's in formal calligraphy, but even in ordinary writing, go back to basics with each individual letter and feel your way into the curves. Let it express itself. Don't get into just copying a letter repetitively, but continue to pay attention to each letter. It's a bit zen like when it works.

and finally

At the end of each session, look back at what you did at the beginning of the session. If you're like me you will see that your first few lines were wandering about all over the place, but you picked up more rhythm, regularity and fluency as you practised. That should give you a great warm feeling and encourage you to schedule another practice session very soon.

Mobile2
December 29th, 2014, 08:43 PM
Like others have said, and my penmanship can attest to, is practice...quality practice. Often I will watch tv and just write what is being said (not every word but as much as I can keep up with) and over the last 3 weeks the legibility of my writing has improved a great deal. Start slow. Practice often.

Also, I picked up a 1.1mm stub recently and that tool alone makes my script look very nice, the broad stub removes some of the shakiness of a finer nib (which I used to prefer)...but now my writing is much better even with my Metro fine nib and even gel pens.

Willieboy
December 30th, 2014, 09:26 AM
VertOlive, I have checked out Handwriting Repair and it too is excellent. I am working on forming my letters more consistently.

Mobile2, I have a 1.1mm nib pen on order. I should have it tomorrow.

manoeuver
December 30th, 2014, 10:29 AM
Good luck Willieboy! You can do it.

sgage
December 30th, 2014, 05:11 PM
I have found that a nice pen and expensive paper do not help my penmanship. It is still awful. Is there a way I can improve? Should I buy a book, take a course, exercise my fingers or just hire somebody to write in my journals? Any ideas?

The quality of my penmanship goes up and down, and oddly enough, seems to track with how often I write. I would say, write often and regularly! Keep a journal. Relax. Use your arm. Slow down. Find a comfortable pen and paper. Pen and paper aren't going to make you write better, but let pen and paper not be in the way.

Practice. But make it enjoyable, not some sort of dreaded exercise. Keep a journal. I write in my journal most days, and some days it's pretty rough-looking - but it's still fun! And some days it's very nice. Don't get all hard on yourself. Ask yourself why do you even want to write with a fountain pen. 'Enjoyment' should figure in there somewhere...

What's a 'nice pen' and 'nice paper'? My favorite pen cost me all of $30. I do indulge myself with Tomoe River paper. Maybe you just need a different nib?

I don't know how old you are, but I grew up learning and writing longhand in school, so at least i didn't have that hurdle. But I was always a straight-A student, except... you guessed it... handwriting (yes, we were graded on handwriting back in the 60's). My handwriting was atrocious. The diagnosis was hurrying, and it's still true today. So my final advice to you (and to me!) is to take your time. Makes a huge difference, to this day...

Good luck, and enjoy the magic of ink coming out of the tip of your pen and making words and stuff! It's really the best, and IMHO ought to be fun and the opposite of stressful. Keep a private journal, and just write - you'll get there. And there is no perfect handwriting - just styles. Have your own. Don't worry!

writingrav
December 31st, 2014, 08:04 AM
I have found that a nice pen and expensive paper do not help my penmanship. It is still awful. Is there a way I can improve? Should I buy a book, take a course, exercise my fingers or just hire somebody to write in my journals? Any ideas?

The quality of my penmanship goes up and down, and oddly enough, seems to track with how often I write. I would say, write often and regularly! Keep a journal. Relax. Use your arm. Slow down. Find a comfortable pen and paper. Pen and paper aren't going to make you write better, but let pen and paper not be in the way.


Practice. But make it enjoyable, not some sort of dreaded exercise. Keep a journal. I write in my journal most days, and some days it's pretty rough-looking - but it's still fun! And some days it's very nice. Don't get all hard on yourself. Ask yourself why do you even want to write with a fountain pen. 'Enjoyment' should figure in there somewhere...

What's a 'nice pen' and 'nice paper'? My favorite pen cost me all of $30. I do indulge myself with Tomoe River paper. Maybe you just need a different nib?

I don't know how old you are, but I grew up learning and writing longhand in school, so at least i didn't have that hurdle. But I was always a straight-A student, except... you guessed it... handwriting (yes, we were graded on handwriting back in the 60's). My handwriting was atrocious. The diagnosis was hurrying, and it's still true today. So my final advice to you (and to me!) is to take your time. Makes a huge difference, to this day...

Good luck, and enjoy the magic of ink coming out of the tip of your pen and making words and stuff! It's really the best, and IMHO ought to be fun and the opposite of stressful. Keep a private journal, and just write - you'll get there. And there is no perfect handwriting - just styles. Have your own. Don't worry!

Well said, sgage, thanks.