So my handwriting sucks

[Penta]

So, I'm just thinking today, because everything's closed due to the snow.

My handwriting sucks. Now, it's explicable, as I have several disabilities (visual, fine motor, etc) which mean I can't even tie my shoes (yay velcro), but this bugs me.

Sure, I learned cursive in school...But I never got a handle on it. I hence can only write in print. Even my signature is in bad print.

Does anyone have any ideas where I could look on the internet for stuff (for adults) meant to improve handwriting?

 

[Lindley]

I never write in cursive except for my signature, and signatures are supposed to be almost illegible anyway.

 

[RandyS]

My cerebral palsy gives me the same problem. All I can say is thank God for email. Everybody understands me that way.

As for where to look for help, I don't know, but Google should be able to help you find something.

 

[Rii]

My handwriting is atrocious, but it doesn't bother me much. I blame being left handed. Or alternatively "shut up, that's why!'

 

[royalfan5]

My handwriting is atrocious, but it doesn't bother me much. I blame being left handed. Or alternatively "shut up, that's why!'

Mine is awful as well. I blame my mother for this as I am naturally lefthanded, and she made me write right handed to make it easier for the second grade teacher to teach me cursive. (She was my first grade teacher). So I write poorly with my right hand. I also write poorly with my left hand and I never felt it was worth the effort to undo years of condition to write with my left hand. Although if I ever break my right arm, I will probably never end up switching back.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I think my handwriting is a cross between printing and cursive

 

[RJDiogenes]

Looks fine to me, Miss Chicken.

I gave up on cursive in Second Grade. I didn't understand the point of a second, harder-to-read way to write.

Penta, I wouldn't worry about improving your cursive; as long as you're legible, that's the important thing.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I think my handwriting is untidy even if it is readable. I wish I could either just do cursive or just print rather than doing a bit of both. I also have at least one grammatical error in what I wrote above

 

[CorporalClegg]

Like Randy, I have CP (though I'm guessing a milder form). I also have fairly good handwriting. The primary reason for this is my PT person when I was a kid was a sadist. She insisted my physical improvement would best be accomplished through handwriting. So I wrote lines and lines and lines and lines and lines... My point is, the only way to improve your handwriting is meticulous practice.

Think of your favorite passages of books or lines from film and TV and write them repeatedly--say for about 15 minutes. This should be enough to fill two pages (front and back). Try for consistancy and accuracy (which is more important than neatest when starting out. If you do this every day you will see drastic improvement within a month.

However, one point of fact in case you didn't already know is you need to write with your shoulder and not your wrist. I know this seems odd to a lot of people, but believe it or not, the muscles in your upper arm are capable of much more fine control than those in the wrist. Think of a Chinese calligraphy artist. If you were to watch her, you'd see she either stands or sits in a high chair and makes broad strokes with her whole arm. Her wrist doesn't move at all.

Obviously, for most people, such a change can be really awkward at first. You should start by standing holding your writing arm out at a ninety degree angle and draw large shapes in the air using just your arm until you get the feel for it.

Then move to paper. Using the same muscles. Draw shapes about three lines in size across the paper. The best shapes to use are Xs Os and / \ (slashes) and figure 8s as these use strokes that best relate back to writing strokes.

For a couple of days do three lines in size, then two line size, and finally down to one. Fill up a page each day before going on to the drills as a warm up.

 

[mari]

Penta - I read an article a while ago that recommended this series: http://www.amazon.com/Italic-Handwriting-Book-Barbara-Getty/dp/0876780923

It isn't cursive, but it's a semi-connected, very legible writing system.

Miss Chicken - It's actually faster and a mark of intelligence to use a semi-connected print/cursive combo. What fascinates me is the way you connect words. Were you taught that way or is it just something you do?

 

[Diddle]

I barely write anything on paper anymore, and if I do is a hideous mixture of cursive with printing writing (is that how it's called?). I don't have any real reason to write stuff on paper, so I don't really care, though I wouldn't mind having a legible handwriting.

 

[JustAFriend]

Penmanship IS a dying art. But it IS something you can do something about.

Every art store has a calligraphy section with books and projects....

...most people just wont put their ass in a seat long enough to do something....

 

[Miss Chicken]

Penta - I read an article a while ago that recommended this series: http://www.amazon.com/Italic-Handwriting-Book-Barbara-Getty/dp/0876780923

It isn't cursive, but it's a semi-connected, very legible writing system.

Miss Chicken - It's actually faster and a mark of intelligence to use a semi-connected print/cursive combo. What fascinates me is the way you connect words. Were you taught that way or is it just something you do?

I wasn't taught to connect words. I think I started to write like this when I was taking notes while studying and I needed to write as fast as I could. I know I have been writing like this since I was a young adult. I now find it very difficult not to connect at least some of my words when I write. The faster I write the more words I connect sometimes three or four words in a row are connected.

EDITED TO ADD - Many years ago I was at a women's group and they had a guest speaker who analysed our handwriting. I can't remember what she said things meant but I know she commented that my capital letters were large but plain, that I dashed rather dotted the letter i, and that my lower loops tend to be quite large.

 

[UssGlenn]

However, one point of fact in case you didn't already know is you need to write with your shoulder and not your wrist. I know this seems odd to a lot of people, but believe it or not, the muscles in your upper arm are capable of much more fine control than those in the wrist.

The reason people stopped writing like this is because of the invention of the ballpoint pen. It makes you have to press down with your fingers rather than just letting the pen flow over the paper. You could try switching to a fountain pen in conjunction with the above advice. Pilot makes a disposable fountain pen called the Varsity that I think is great.

 

[Trekker4747]

I haven't writen in cursive since fifth or sixth grade. In seventh grade none of my teachers in my new school enforced cursive writing.

Frankly, I think cursive writing is a waste and useless it's too easy for people to get sloppy with it, not make all of the letters right or simply just run them together or even event whole new ways of making the script letters. The hardest things to read are almost always in cursive. Print writing may be slower, but at least that slowness, sort of, forces people to from the letters somewhat correctly or at least not invent new looks for the letters.

For a while in Jr. High I was in the habit of writing in "all caps" where the letters that were supposed to be lowercase were simply just shorter versions of the capital letters. Now I write in all, regular, print.

If I'm writing fast for a note only I'm going to read and use my writing can be sloppy and I use my version of shorthand, using abreviations and such only I can understand. I've had people look at these notes of mine and actualy wonder if I was writing in some other language.

For notes and such others will see/use I can write fairly neat legible and for lettering on things for signage and other items for dispaly I can be damn-near perfect in my formation of letters.

My signature? Most often in cursive, as signatures should be, and highly illegible. Only the first letter of my first name can be made out and the the first and last letter of my last name can be made out (my last name's last letter only because it has a feature unique to that letter that I make clear.)

If I "try" I can make a neat cursive signature and will at time make a neat fancy-print signature.

So... my handwriting is complex as it varies on mood, time, use, intened readers and my own whimsy at the time of writing.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I only do cursive when I sign something, and even then it's basically a scribble (signatures aren't supposed to be legible, after all, just consistent). In normal writing, I print, in all capital letters.

 

[Shaw]

I've always liked my handwriting... mainly because no one would ever ask me for copies of my notes.

 

[scotpens]

Shaw: Did you ever consider a medical career? With handwriting like that, you could have been a doctor!

 

[RandyS]

My handwriting is atrocious, but it doesn't bother me much. I blame being left handed. Or alternatively "shut up, that's why!'

Maybe, maybe not. In addition to having both cerebral palsy and a mild case of arthritis in both hands, I'm also left handed. I don't think THAT'S a cause of bad handwriting.

After all, it's a proven fact that left handed people are 12% smarter than the rest of the world.

 

[Trekker4747]

My handwriting is atrocious, but it doesn't bother me much. I blame being left handed. Or alternatively "shut up, that's why!'

Maybe, maybe not. In addition to having both cerebral palsy and a mild case of arthritis in both hands, I'm also left handed. I don't think THAT'S a cause of bad handwriting.

After all, it's a proven fact that left handed people are 12% smarter than the rest of the world.

Well, you'd have to be in order to operate a standard-transmission car or to not ladel boiling soup onto your own arm.