Capitol W's seem to present a problem. I can't make them "pretty" no matter what I do. Connected cursive r's and t's seem to present probelms also. Any tips? Any one else have particular letters they wish they did differently?

my r's. I can't seem to make them look nice. My e's, too.

I gave up on cursive uppercase/majuscule/capital letters years ago, switching to block capital form. The exception is the letter "I," maybe because the block form with the serifs (to distinguish it from lowercase/miniscule/small "l") requires three unconnected pen strokes! I freely alternate between block form "I" and cursive "I."

I was annoyed by small "r" for many years! The "standard" form bears no resemblance to the block form! Now, I've found a happier alternative that is still legible to the masses and the standard-setters. I copied it from a former colleague at work.

For small "r," try this:
Go up from the baseline, or up a little bit from the midline (wherever the previous letter ended).
At the top of this stroke or strokelet, don't make a pointed peak. Just make a sharp, right-angled turn.
Go straight rightward, as far as you would go for both arcs of a small "m."
Make a smooth bend or a sharp corner (whichever you can produce consistently) to start the downward stroke.
Don't make the downward stroke straight. Make it a leftward arc that finishes under the point where you had started to go down.

There, you've written a small "r" that looks like the right-hand half of a block-form, capital "R!"

(Edited 1/31/2006 evening U.S. Pacific Time, morning of 2/1 in some places)

My small "t" looks better when its vertical stroke is a pen-point-width, non-looping line in both stroke directions, not a tall and narrow loop. In fact, I try to make all my vertical-ascenders except small "l" (ell) and the ascending part of "f" this way. I still write the latter two with a tall and narrow loop.

My small "b" has this same pen-point-width, non-looping ascender, and its arc portion starts up from the baseline along the ascender, curves rightward along the midline and finishes along the baseline at the ascender; the connection to the next letter goes rightward from there.

My vertical descender for small "p" is a pen-point-width, non-looping line in both stroke directions.

My vertical descender for small "f" is a deep, narrow loop.

All my other vertical descenders, for small "g," "j," "q," "y" and "z," are narrow loops for comfort and speed because they connect to the next letter from the descender. This also helps me "mind my p's and q's :ph34r: ."

Does anyone have a improvement to suggest for connected, cursive, small "z?" I keep trying to make it bear some resemblance to the block form small form, but can't do it consistently.

(Edited on the evening of 1/31/2006, morning of 2/1 in some places)

Connected, cursive, small "e" was an interesting challenge until I found a way to escape from the looped-"l"(ell)-which-got-squashed.

Starting from a letter that ends at the midline, it's easier. I go straight rightward, not turning upward until I've reached the full width of the "e."
Then I go upward, back and around to make the loop and the connection to the next letter. It looks very, very similar to the block form small "e."

Starting from the baseline, when I remember (not always successfully) to do the following:
I don't take the loop upward immediately.
I go rightward and upward at an angle which is less than 45 degrees from the baseline, as far as the full width of the "e."
Then I go back and around to make the loop and the connection to the next letter. It looks less like the looped-"l"(ell)-which-got-squashed and more like the block form small "e."

Have fun!