Scruffy hand-writing

[majordad]

My handwriting has always been bad, and like the OP I'm left handed. Being left handed makes you smudge the ink and you can't see what you've just written to follow the line.

Perhaps the biggest factor in my case, at school in Dublin in the 60's a Christian Brother ( teacher ) stood over me and used force me to write with my right hand. If I was seen writing with my left I was hit on the hand with a heavy ruler. Result I'm useless with both hands, and never ever was able to write with my right .

[Max5476]

So far all the images shown have been very neat handwriting, I'm an engineer and righty, but my writing is terrible. Once I find a pen and paper I'll load something up...

ETA...

Edited by Max5476 on Tuesday 24th January 21:42

[grumpy52]

After having a minor stroke seven years ago ,my handwriting is only just getting back to something like legible,my spelling and punctuation still require a lot of effort.

[soad]

RizzoTheRat said:

I make notes in meetings and then look at them half an hour later and have no idea what it says.

[Hrimfaxi]

My handwriting is basically another language, one that I haven't even learnt yet.
It's shockingly bad, sometimes quite embarrassing and can empathize with people in this thread.

I think I was "designed" to be a lefty, but from a very young age, I was taught to write with my right hand.

I've been reading the fountain pen thread and found that youtube video someone linked (as mentioned previously). I really want to give those exercises a go.

Might also throw up an example of my symbolic alien language writing, if anyone fancies a laugh.

ETA the pic.... oh dear.

Edited by Hrimfaxi on Tuesday 24th January 23:03

[Gareth79]

talksthetorque said:

Fi I scribble some notes my handwriting is terrible.
Even if I'm on lined paper it wanders up and down, It can lean both ways in the same sentence, and I tend to take shortcuts like writing a 5 the same way as an S, not crossing the top afterwards, my capital Es are round, etc etc
I found the only way to improve it, and it does work is

SLOOOOOOWWW DOOOOOOOWWWN

I think as we all type a lot now, we try to write at the speed we can type, most people can type faster than they can write longhand.

When I wrote my christmas cards this year I found slowing down made all the difference. I did a bit of practice first and found that slowing just a little gave me time to visualise the letters as I wrote them.

When going too fast I found I missed out upstrokes where the subsequent letter had one too, and similar things.

I think just practice (but writing slowly) would help most people a lot.

[Pints]

I noticed that the notes I was taking during a meeting yesterday weren't anything like the examples I gave above.

Anyone else have differing handwriting styles? Or is one of my personalities schizophrenic?

[Dicky Knee]

Pints said:

I noticed that the notes I was taking during a meeting yesterday weren't anything like the examples I gave above.

Anyone else have differing handwriting styles? Or is one of my personalities schizophrenic?

I'm the same. I think it is because when writing notes for myself I am a bit lazier than if I am writing a letter/cards/notes for someone else.

Handwriting is a taught skill. In Infants School (in the late 1960's) our Headmaster gave us lessons in Italic writing once a week which required careful use of the pencil (rectangular lead) and forming of the letters. Later I did an 'O' level in Technical Drawing which has also influenced my writing and numbers style.

My dad used to work in a place where the drivers had to fill out requisition forms and one of the guys there was so bad no one could read a word of what was on the forms so he decided to teach himself Copperplate writing. My dad said that the forms became a work of art so it is more than possible to change it into something elegant.

[Robbo 27]

If you want to practice calligraphy you can do so with two hexagonal pencils.

Line up the points with the pens vertical and sellotape them together.

Hold the double pencil so that they are side by side and try and keep that position, practice the letter C

You are looking to achieve a broad downstroke and thin stroke at the top and bottom of the C as in the pic.




When you have mastered the C Try Q and other letters



You may need to lift the pencils part way through the circle until you become really good.

To acheive these effects with a pen you will probably need a special nibbed pen with an oblique or an itallic nib, I havent used one myself but that Oblique Triple Broad nib looks remarkable.

[RizzoTheRat]

[Pints]

As a student I used to make extra pocket money with calligraphy, anything from place setting cards (e.g. weddings) to quotes on posters. This was before home PCs and printers were commonplace. Because I haven't had to really use the skill in so long, I'd probably have to stick my tongue out and cross my eyes if I was to try it again.

[SkrrSkrr]

Mine is terrible. luckily we don't have to write much in the trap

[King Herald]

Robbo 27 said:

There is a thread on fountain pens and handwriting on PH

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Fountain pens can help train you to write better, even left handers, I suggest using a fine nibbed pen.

Basically its down to practice, get some graph paper and write out the alphabet in small letters. Someone I know whose handwriting looked like a 5 year olds practiced handwriting and now her handwriting is just beautiful.

When I was at school my English teacher once sent me out during class time, with money out of his own pocket, to buy a fountain pen, so disgusted was he with the standard of my handwriting.

It made no difference, the spider scrawl carried on, but this time smudged and smeared all across the page.

One teacher told me he believed I was actually left handed, but had been forced to use my right to write with. Not sure, my parents didn't think so. I don't recall any such pressure even from youngest school days.

When I was backpacking I used to love writing my daily journal, and had to change to non-joined writing as even I could not decipher what I was putting on paper.

It is extremely embarrassing when someone hands me a form or something to fill in. Looks like a three year old did it.

[Robbo 27]

I used to know a Project Manager at a Construction Company who was in the same position as you, noone could read her handwriting, including herself. I gave her a Parker 51 witha broad nib and she practiced for an hour a day for a couple of weeks, she has the best handwriting I have ever seen other than a professional calligrapher.

Speaking of which have a look at Ken Fraser's work, he makes a living out of his handwriting

http://calligraphymasters.com/calligraphy-styles-b...

[Prohibiting]

My writing has been OK but after a couple of days practising with a nice new fountain pen, it's getting better.

It all boils down to practise. Copy a paragraph from a book and take the time to form the letters.



I'm going to continue to practise so that every letter will look the same as the first.

Edited by Prohibiting on Wednesday 25th January 16:29

[ecsrobin]

Hrimfaxi said:

I'm similar to this although I only write in block capitals, I've always had scruffy handwriting but I joined the air traffic branch of the RAF and for watchkeeping we had to write in block capitals. A habit I can't seem to shake off now I've left.

[Desiato]

I'm a draughtsman/engineering designer and am old enough to have learnt on a drawing board, so I have fairly neat handwriting. I do find that a lot of the time I write in capitals and can do so quite quickly and neatly. I use a fountain pen every day for note taking and keep a daily diary. Of late, after reading the fountain pen thread I have been practicing my cursive writing much more in an attempt to get back to having neat, joined up semi italic writing.

I would love to have the time and patience to learn and use calligraphy. Writing by hand does seem to be a dying art form, although I do see more people around the office using a fountain pen when they are required to write.

Edited by Desiato on Wednesday 1st February 06:39

[Andy_mr2sc]

I had really neat handwriting at school and college. Always used a fountain pen when I could. It is so rare now that I have to write anything other than the odd scribble or note that I really struggle writing in joined up. I'm ok writing in capitals but this is obviously no use for some things. Anything of length I usually type out which funnily enough I'm pretty quick at.
Having been following the recent fountain pen thread this has got me thinking maybe I should get another and practice writing properly again or in this day and age am I (sadly) wasting my time?

[marksx]

My handwriting is terrible. I work for a pharma company, where most documents are checked by someone else and I'm always getting complaints.

[Zammy]

marksx said:

My handwriting is terrible. I work for a pharma company, where most documents are checked by someone else and I'm always getting complaints.

That's not bad at all, wish mine was more like that. From what has been said on here I am going to buy myself a fountain pen and practise every day (he says). Hopefully might see some improvement,