Well I just got a new pen today, the Pilot 78G with a medium nib. I seem to write cursive better then I do regular, but neither look to appealing to me. When I was younger I had quit a few writing problems that they tried correcting, I write right handed but I tend to curve my wrist like a lefty does. It's not quit as bad when I was younger, but I notice I still have some curve. I hold the pen with my middle finger under, index on top and thumb on the side. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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Try moving the pen closer to your first knuckle and rotating the pad about 15 degrees CCW. Oh, and consider relaxing your grip as well. It looks like you're kind of squeezing the pen.

There's a natural speed that varies by individual and several ways to find it. Try writing loops, O's, vertical and angled lines as evenly as possible for maybe five or ten minutes a day. You'll find your natural speed/rhythm and your handwriting will improve.

Your writing is legible, but kind of inconsistent. Try to stay on the base line, space your letters a bit farther apart and find your rhythm and you'll see vast improvements.

Something that helps me tremendously is journaling every day. When I don't journal, my handwriting deteriorates, but it always looks much better after a week or two of half hour writing sessions every day.


Cheers,
Tom

For the most part, it's fairly readable, but it's not level. Half the letters don't sit on the lines and that makes it look messy. Relax and slow down. I can see that you've got a problem writing 'M's. I may be wrong, but I think it's indicative of writing too fast and not moving your hand quick enough to compensate for that. As a result your Ms (and various other letters) are getting squished up and tripping over each other.

If you slow down and move your hand as you write, or alternatively, stop every few words and reposition your hand and then continue (which is what I do), it might help.

I notice that your writing on the right side of the page and on longer words gets cramped and starts to drop off to the right. I had a similar problem because I was taught to write cursive as one long piece of ink-on-paper, no matter what position my hand was in or how long the word was. (You should see what I did to supercalidociouexpealidicious (SP?). Anyhow, once I discovered writing manuals, I found out that it is permissible to lift the pen, reposition paper and hand, and continue with one's writing. Try it and see how it works for you.

Your grip appears excellent, shouldn't have any problems there. Have you looked over any materials on Italic? A lot of very good information for any writer, not just some one wanting to learn Italic.

Luck,
Randal

Randal,

That's:

Supercalifragilisciousexpealidocious (or at least I think it is - is there a real reference somewhere?)

(Hum diddliddliddle, Hum diddleye!)

Good advice about hand repositioning, and I'd have to strongly second the practice of Italic handwriting (I like Chancery Cursive) as a way to improve anyone's handwriting. I like the book, Italic Letters: Calligraphy and Handwriting by Inga Dubay and Barbara Getty. James Pickering's website is also a nice resource. Speaking of whom, has anyone heard from James recently?


Cheers,
Tom

I think is a very decent stating point to work on....is readable, but not consistent as others have pointed out. The way you hold the pen is very forced and will tire the hand and arm, besides having an effect on the penmanship. This article may be useful http://www.paperpenalia.com/handwriting.html . Trying to journal, as Mr. Pike has suggested is the best advise, it will keep your writing slow enough and will improve by daily practice. Great choice on ink and pen!.

supercalifragalisticexpialadocious...

I wonder if it's possible to write that entire word without lifting the pen once...

Scan attached. I used the spelling found in Wikipedia.

Pen lifts were used to dot the seven 'i's, cross the 't', and complete the 'x'.

Written with a Lamy Safari with an Extra Fine (EF) nib.

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Beautiful, scrollpoint
A standard for most cursive writers to aspire-to, IMO.

Two things.

I don't remember learning to write, but I do remember learning Calligraphy. Practice making straight vertical and horizontal lines - a lot. Then practice making circles - try them in one stroke and in two strokes. (start at the top and go left to the bottom of the "o" then come back to the top and do the same thing to the right. Practice long loops of "o"'s

Every letter is based on a line or a curve. You must practice good lines and curves to form good letters. From there, just practice slowly copying and working on the alphabet.

The second thing. Make sure you are breathing as you write. Deep breath in and then write as you exhale. Your writing will be much more smoother than if you hold your breath as you write. Think of a horn player taking a breath before playing a piece of music....

rogerb, thanks for the compliment. I don't recommend writing long words without pen lifts, however. I had to shift my entire hand multiple times without disrupting the slant or letter proportions. It was a strenuous exercise that could become painful if continued for too long.

Here is the word again written more naturally. Contains three times as many pen lifts.

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Update: photofabix, I wrote a post offering suggestions, but a few wrong keystrokes deleted my work ... I'll try to post something later. In the meantime, let me add that as someone who also practices calligraphy, I support biffybeans's advice. If you have access to a handwriting book, I encourage you to copy the practice pages from them and directly trace over the letterforms to get a feel of how to reproduce the curves and ovals. You can always add personality to your writing after you have the basics down.