Left Handed Writing Coach

[MHBru]

In my Nextdoor app someone has asked about a left handed writing coach for their child. Anyone know of someone in southern Orange County California. Literally. Asking for a friend.

[Chmara]

This is not a direct answer-- but I can tell you that at age 77 I have learned that lefties are individuals who generally do not do well with a single style of "lefty" writing. Your daughter, more than a coach, needs your emotional support and understanding. I woould generally coach against "overwriting" bending at the wrist to drag the pen like a righty might, Overwriting and often side writing leads to smears and nibs digging into cheaper papers.

 

Maybe the best thing to do is to get some examples of the script she likes -- a pen and ink -- and the freedom to position the paper in a way that she is comfortable with as she traces and rehearses the best way she can develop letterforms and connections for her style.

 

It is the support of being different is OK and builds confidence. Fear of not conforming to the righty techniques that do not work for lefties while developing pretty and magnificent handwriting kills the pen skills of many lefties, leading to ball points, and keyboards.

[sidthecat]

My writing slanted to the right until just lately...perhaps she needs Diamine inks. They're very quick-drying.

[CaaC]

Hope they did find a coach,

 

Posture
Page orientation
Pen grip
Quick-drying ink
Upright script

Right handed drag the pen, while left handed push the pen, up and down movements are the same.

 

 

/late answer, so its more for other people searching info on this topic.

[Thymen]

Left-handed under-writer here....

 

A well-know Dutch soccer player and coach, by the name of Johan Cruyff, was also known for his rather cryptic statements. One of them, in slang Dutch: "Elk nadeel hep se voordeel".

 

It means: every disadvantage includes an advantage.

 

Being a lefty, writing at a right slant (like 52°) is quite difficult for me to do. So it's much easier for me to write without slant. I find it makes my writing look a bit immature, or amateurish. That's a disadvantage.

 

The advantage however, is that writing without slant makes texts easier to read. At least in my opinion. And I do not mean only my own, but also the handwriting of other people that I've seen, either directly or over the Internetz.

 

I would not put a lot of effort in trying to teach a left-handed child to mimic right-handed handwriting, but instead focus on a style the child is comfortable with. Underwriting, in my opinion, is something certainly worth learning.

 

My eldest son is a lefty too, but an overwriter. His handwriting is awful, he gets writers cramp very quickly. I gave him a fountain pen, and he hated it. I just wish I knew a little more about handwriting, and paid more attention to it when he was still young.....

 

Edit: See also here http://handedness.org/action/leftwrite.html

Edited December 22, 2019 by Thymen

[Southerngent]

Just joined this group recently and am fascinated by all the topics I've wondered about over the years--like being left-handed and still loving fountain pens. Many of the "lefties" I've seen curl their hand and fingers around in a semi-circle to the right when writing. For some reason I never did that so maybe that's why using a fountain pen is no problem. My question is whether left-handed folks have found custom or specialty nibs helpful? All my pens have normal nibs from fine to broad. I've never owned a pen with a left-handed oblique or Italic grind, for example. Am thinking of getting a stub nib after reading some of the comments about them but would love advice or comments. Thanks!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Southpaw hooker. Only 'normal' nibs.

 

And stubs, italics, whichever you want, have worked well for me and lend a certain flair to my normal writing. Off the top of my head: Lamy, Nemosine, Pelikan, Pilot, Sheaffer No Nonsense, Osmiroid, all inexpensive, most at the 1.1 mm mark. I do write with a 1.5 on occasion.

 

Welcome aboard and Happy New Year!

[richtl]

I'm one of the many left-handed writers whose handwriting went from horrid to good after discovering fountain pens. I'm an underwriter, meaning I don't hook my wrist, but do write with the paper at a 60 degree or so angle and pivot my writing hand from my elbow. No issues with smudging or inky hands. I use Pilot pens a lot--I've found the Falcon really nice to write with, but also enjoy my Visconti and Nakaya pens (the Nakaya was adjusted for my writing style by John Mottishaw at nibs.com). I'm using Pilot inks in all of them. For everyday (and I mean *every day all day* for taking orders and notes at the chocolate shop) I use a YStudio Brassing; the Schmidt nib is surprisingly comfortable.

 

I actually find fountain pens easier to write with than ballpoints or rollerballs.

[Southerngent]

I'm one of the many left-handed writers whose handwriting went from horrid to good after discovering fountain pens. For everyday (and I mean *every day all day* for taking orders and notes at the chocolate shop) I use a YStudio Brassing; the Schmidt nib is surprisingly comfortable.

 

I actually find fountain pens easier to write with than ballpoints or rollerballs.

 

 

You just turned me on to a pen I'd never heard of, but it fascinates me, the YStudio Brassing with the Schmidt nib. Jet Pens seem to be out of stock on them right now but I can wait! As a lefty, it really helps to have personal recommendations and comments.