Practical Advice For Improving Note Taking Handwriting.

[RodXmas]

I apologize this question I feel is a little beneath this forum but I have tried to get a clear direction elsewhere to no avail. I have gotten into fountain pens over the last few years and love to write with them. I journal some, take lots of business notes and would like to write more personal thank you notes but am too embarrassed due to my handwriting. For some context I am 50 year old professional in a large multinational firm. I would like to break this into a project with the outcome being at least reasonable handwriting for thank you notes and that is fast enough for business note taking. My biggest questions are what method/script should I pick and any recommended resources or training. I look forward to your thoughtful and practical advice.

[Ted F]

What does your handwriting look like now?

[DJW1066]

My experience is that whatever script you select, speed will be its enemy. So you may not want to limit yourself to a single script for all usage.

 

Even though my best script is dreadful, I do write thank-you's and other notes at work because ugly as it may be, it is (generally) readable, and my colleagues find it quaint. I strive to take my time writing in order to minimize the pain inflicted on others.

 

But as soon as I go into "note-taking" mode, the tempo increases, the wheels fall off, and the folks at Bletchley Park despair trying to figure out what I'm trying to say. But then, they don't need to read my notes. Therefore, I make hearty use of abbreviations, short cuts, and degenerate to a script meaningful only to me.

[Arcadian]

I went through a similar process once. My handwriting was awful, jumping up and down and never following the lines, letters looked like others and some looked like nothing at all. Eventually I got so tired of myself that I sat down with a pencil and paper and practiced. I practiced incessantly, and little by little my skill improved. If I have any advice to give, it is firstly this: Practice makes, well maybe not perfect, but better. Secondly, it might be a good idea to find types of writing, fonts, that you like, and try to imitate them during your practice, to get your hand to move differently from the ingrained patterns that have led to your undesired results so far. And lastly, cursive script is a wonderful thing, so flowing and fancy and fine, but sadly it has been my experience that too few in our day and age can read it well. Therefore I suggest, for business purposes, to work away and practice printed letters first, and then consider cursive script a hobby for your own enjoyment later on.

 

- P.

[RodXmas]

[/url]">http://http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/Rod_Christmas/RAChandwriting26Aug14_zpse37f6a81.jpgHere is an example and my face is more than a little red.

Edited August 27, 2014 by RodXmas

[Randal6393]

Okay, you are writing American cursive currently, poorly taught, and with no affiliation to any particular style. Legible, though, which is a pretty good place to start. If you wish to stay with an American cursive hand, would recommend going to IAMPETH (www.iampeth.com) and looking over the books, videos, etc. to get an idea of what is possible. Pick a style, read a few books, and learn how to practice effectively. Possibly D'Nealian, Palmer, American Business Writing.

 

If you fall in love with the flourished writing, that would lead to learning Spenserian or English Roundhand, Engraver's Script, etc. Would need flexy pens, either fountain or dip.

 

My personal favorite is the broad-edged pen and italic script. Now, that is a bit of a learning curve. But should have you writing an elegant hand.

 

By the way, progress is fast if you are dedicated. Many people report good progress in a few months.

 

Best of luck and have fun,

[Green Ink]

I find when I take notes fast all I can do is just get everything down. I make a conscious effort to put plenty of space between the words. That improves legibility tremendously and it's doable.

 

As far as handwriting for thank you notes, I am working on improvements too! I think a handwritten note is a wonderful thing.

[Anne Louise Bannon]

When I'm writing notes, I'm trying to get down whatever I'm thinking or someone else is saying as fast as I can. As long as you can read whatever you've written in that particular situation, don't sweat it. As far as handwriting notes to other folks - say, thank you notes - legibility is critical, beauty a nice bonus. Practice, but don't sweat it if it's not perfect. The fact that you took the time to write anything at all, let alone sent something that wasn't pre-printed, is miles ahead of anyone else and impressive as hell. Yes, strive for the absolute best you can be - that you owe to yourself. But handwriting of any kind these days is enough to make you stand out.

[SuperNib44]

I suggest really taking a few days to research writing styles and look at examples from the past. A great almost unknown resource I use is the free indexing program from familysearch.org. Whether or not you want to index old records aside (which I suggest as a great service opportunity!), you can download the program and open files of records from all around the world spanning from the late 1500's to the 1990's, almost all handwritten. These are not perfect examples of copperplate or always pristine Spencerian, but peoples' everyday hand. I have used this program to see which writing style I like and I often adopt letter forms I see. Doing this has helped me immensely.

 

https://familysearch.org/indexing/get-started-indexer

 

After you research a style or hand you like, go over to IAMPETH (http://www.iampeth.com/books.php) or other penmanship websites and find material there that best relates to what you are looking for and begin drilling. Do drills until you have free, full arm movement. A good yardstick to go by (or meter-stick if you live over the pond ) is the circle drills. If you feel comfortable with circle drills you are likely ready to begin adding elements of letterforms and individual style that you discovered earlier on in the process. This last bit will likely keep take a long time. Pretty soon your writing will soon become something you are proud to show off. This is my personal plan anyway and I am constantly working on it.

Edited August 28, 2014 by SuperNib44

[Newjelan]

I suggest you try italic. Two years ago I had a typical, barely legible, lefty scrawl. (I'd never learnt proper handwriting at school). I was determined to improve my handwriting and have taught myself italic. I haven't been rigorous with practice - not in the slightest. However, I did some basic exercises and practised every now and then (weekly - monthly.

 

Today I was in a jewellery store and needed to complete a guarantee form. The staff were blown away by the quality of my handwriting and all came to look. It was just my (new) everyday, quick writing. I was chuffed.

[pmhudepo]

Italic is said to deteriorate gracefully as you increase speed. Ken Fraser posted a rather nice example. Italic also has the advantage of being close to printed text (as in books, computer screens) so many people will be able to read it.

 

That said, a joined-up, or looped, writing such as Palmer, is quite nice as well. It has the disadvantage that many people may not be familiar with the letter forms any more (think capital Q, which looks like a figure 2) and all the loops and joins sometimes seem to hide the actual letters. But, it does allow one to write entire words quite easily in one swift (whole arm | muscular) movement.

 

Whatever you chose, make some time to get the basics right. Get some instruction, for example a PDF of older books to be found on www.iampeth.com, or Lloyd Reynolds' videos on Italic handwriting (search YouTube), or one of many other options. Spend some time on posture, grip, movement, but especially on the design of the letters. It's usually just a couple of different strokes and angles.

[gwyneddd]

Okay, you are writing American cursive currently, poorly taught, and with no affiliation to any particular style. Legible, though, which is a pretty good place to start. If you wish to stay with an American cursive hand, would recommend going to IAMPETH (www.iampeth.com) and looking over the books, videos, etc. to get an idea of what is possible. Pick a style, read a few books, and learn how to practice effectively. Possibly D'Nealian, Palmer, American Business Writing.

 

If you fall in love with the flourished writing, that would lead to learning Spenserian or English Roundhand, Engraver's Script, etc. Would need flexy pens, either fountain or dip.

 

My personal favorite is the broad-edged pen and italic script. Now, that is a bit of a learning curve. But should have you writing an elegant hand.

 

By the way, progress is fast if you are dedicated. Many people report good progress in a few months.

 

Best of luck and have fun,

 

The OP didn't say how old he was, but his handwriting looks as if he was taught in the late 70's or 80's? They switched from cursive that flowed to a kind of "learn to print and add tails" method that I think didn't serve students very well.

 

I switched schools 3 times my 2nd grade year (when they used to teach cursive) and had 2 methods (Palmer and Zaner-Bloser.) It was confusing. I ended up with lousy handwriting even though I can draw fairly well. I ended up buying a workbook as an adult and practicing a lot. I still practice in spare moments and that REALLY can improve your handwriting quickly. I also find the flow of a good fountain pen assists this.

 

I recommend the Horizons Workbook for practice. After you do this a while, simply download any ruled practice sheets and use them to tune up your hand.