Lefthanders Cursive Or Printing

[coyotewhisper]

Just curious for those of us that are left handed, which do you prefer to write cursive or printing?

Or do you use a mixture of both?

 

Some cursive letters do not flow naturally for myself, I find myself using a combination of both cursive and printing.

While my writing style is unorthodox, it is unique.

 

Left handed writers approaching writing in different ways, what is your writing approach, sky hook, underhanded or?

[torstar]

underwriter, cursive most of the time, block letters the rest

 

it's a mess, but not the worst lefty handwriting at the office

[fiberdrunk]

For years I only ever printed. Then in the early 90's I got into calligraphy and made the effort to learn cursive italic, so that's what I use now. I'm currently learning Palmer, too. I'm a hook-over lefty. My dream is to learn Spencerian, but dang, that hooking over makes me push the nib rather than pull it like you're supposed to, and I can't flex to get the shading in the right places. I have to learn another way someday, or else invent a pen holder that compensates for hook-over lefties.

Edited February 8, 2013 by fiberdrunk

[Demogrammateus]

First off very happy to see other left-handed pen enthusiasts

Now topic at hand. I, when writing with a pencil, use a mix of cursive and print, but when I use ink and pen I write fluently and don't lift till the next word. So mainly cursive because then who cares if I smear it

[torstar]

First off very happy to see other left-handed pen enthusiasts

Now topic at hand. I, when writing with a pencil, use a mix of cursive and print, but when I use ink and pen I write fluently and don't lift till the next word. So mainly cursive because then who cares if I smear it

 

I was 43 before I realized that people kept the pen on the paper for the entire word...

[curiouslizard]

Lefty hooker. I mostly write cursive italic. It's not too hard getting the angle and slant right coming over the top.

[Pinkys.Brain]

Former left cursive hooker going left cursive under...takes a lot of time to relearn

[Draless]

I'm a left hand over writer and slant my paper 30 degrees counter clockwise. Only cursive, printing is too slow

 

I switch to left underhand for calligraphy. Took me about 3 months doing this for the letters to look pleasant but well worth the effort.

[Demogrammateus]

First off very happy to see other left-handed pen enthusiasts

Now topic at hand. I, when writing with a pencil, use a mix of cursive and print, but when I use ink and pen I write fluently and don't lift till the next word. So mainly cursive because then who cares if I smear it

 

I was 43 before I realized that people kept the pen on the paper for the entire word...

 

Hahaha luckily I've always seen my wearing of ink as a badge of honor. Underwriting cursive is so much more gratifying and the shock from other lefthanders makes any accidental paper to man joinings worth it.

[torstar]

First off very happy to see other left-handed pen enthusiasts

Now topic at hand. I, when writing with a pencil, use a mix of cursive and print, but when I use ink and pen I write fluently and don't lift till the next word. So mainly cursive because then who cares if I smear it

 

I was 43 before I realized that people kept the pen on the paper for the entire word...

 

Hahaha luckily I've always seen my wearing of ink as a badge of honor. Underwriting cursive is so much more gratifying and the shock from other lefthanders makes any accidental paper to man joinings worth it.

 

 

for exams weeks the entire edge of my left hand was coated in Bic Crystal blue

 

i have always done a stop and lift for and "i" or "t" written

 

as i'm still a stretch and pull at the last second writer, any word over 8 letters has a lift in it

Edited February 11, 2013 by torstar

[29pavlich]

I am a left handed overwriter.My handwriting is mostly cursive with a bit of printing thrown in. I end every day with a smudge along the edge of my hand. It's as close as I will ever get to a tattoo.

[JonSzanto]

Left-handed underwriter. I stopped writing cursive in 11th grade, both out of the frustration of smeared ink and a friend who had the most insanely cool printing. I've used printing only for the last... 40+ years, and only last year started to try teaching myself to go back to cursive, both with the left AND learning with my right. If I get coordinated enough with the left, I'd love to start cursive italic and other more ornate/sophisticated scripts.

[Draless]

I'm curious now, I'm a left hand over writer and i slant my paper 30 degrees counter clock wise. I never have issues with smearing, the only exception is J Herbin 1670 in a broad pelikan where the periods will smear occasionally on Rhodia paper.

 

aside from that my letters don't smear.

 

I typically write with my very wet pelikans and Iroshizuku ink so the flow is extremely generous.

 

What is the basis I'm curious as to most of everyone smearing?

 

The only thing I can think of is the slant 30 degrees, because as I write my left hand rests on the line above in which I am writing in, as opposed to if the paper was perpendicular my hand would rest on the line in which I am writing on.

[Penguin.]

I wasn't required to write in cursive after maybe the 3rd grade. I've always written in print. I usually write straight across what I write, so what ink and paper I use have always been important- otherwise SMEARING happens. I can usually make some adjustments to my writing style... still learning all this over hand, under hand, hooked stuff.

 

Actually, my desire to have a cooler signature is what made me want to learn cursive again. I favored how Spencerian looked and couldn't figure out why my writing wasn't as pretty as the example in my book. A couple of years later I find out it's because I've been using a pen that offered no line variation (rollerball).

 

Ahh.. youth. That's my unasked for fountain pen origin story.

 

 

 

Anywho yea. I think for things like crossing t's or capitol I's, I pull the pen instead of pushing it. Idk if that's a thing or not.

[DanielCoffey]

I am a left-handed underwriter and have never had a problem with smearing, not even when writing on a small school desk.

 

My natural style is not formal cursive but it is somewhat joined up. I tend to do short runs of letters but with breaks for any that are hard to do without lifting. K and X are the guaranteed lifts. I lift a lot more than I need to and also employ multiple forms of letters like S which vary depending on where in the word they fall. I am not consistent by any means but my writing is legible. If I hurry, the letters shrink and close up but if I have time then I can open up the writing and it is easier to read. I do have a limit of about half a sheet of A4 before fatigue begins to set in and the writing becomes a little sloppier but that is down to lack of practice.

[lovementos]

I'm not sure what to call my writing style, but I write with the feed facing 11 o'clock/ the left upper corner of the paper. My palm goes through what I wrote, so quick-dry inks and blotter paper are my best friends. When I want to write neatly, I write in print, but if in a hurry, I write in cursive-print hybrid.

[tripcode]

I'm a straight-on, maybe a little bit of an overwriter. I always do cursive, but I do some capitals in block, like I. Cursive Is are ludicrous interpretations of the parent glyph. Others, like lowercase F, I've adjusted to flow better. I think it's inevitable one makes such compromises in their handwriting, though, in an effort to get it to go well. I would encourage you to look at the D'Nealian system of handwriting, for letters like k that flow better than their normal counterparts.

 

As far as arm movements go, I'm big into Palmer style writing, where it's your arm and elbow doing most of the work. I can write quite fast that way.

[Chadlenberg]

I'm an overwriter, but Iwould love to teach myself to underwrite! Any suggestions? Anyways. I've been a printer since Like middle school but I recently got my first fountain pen and fallen back in love with cursive. I've transitioned back to it for the most part.

[Newjelan]

1360901225[/url]' post='2599677']

I'm an overwriter, but Iwould love to teach myself to underwrite! Any suggestions? Anyways. I've been a printer since Like middle school but I recently got my first fountain pen and fallen back in love with cursive. I've transitioned back to it for the most part.

 

I'm an underwriter and I think it's all about creating space for your hand. I was a side writer in the early years of school and trained myself so I wouldn't smudge my writing. (We learnt to write with ball points and the ink in them smudged too!) I can still remember the side of my hand covered in spots of blue biro ink.

One way to try may be to turn your paper clockwise as that gives you more room for your hand. When I was at Uni, people noticed that I wrote vertically down the page (ie, I turned the paper 90 degrees) - I had no idea I was doing it until it was pointed out to me. Now I turn the paper about 45 - 55 degrees, depending on where on the page I'm writing and how much room I have.

[Chadlenberg]

1360901225[/url]' post='2599677']

I'm an overwriter, but Iwould love to teach myself to underwrite! Any suggestions? Anyways. I've been a printer since Like middle school but I recently got my first fountain pen and fallen back in love with cursive. I've transitioned back to it for the most part.

 

I'm an underwriter and I think it's all about creating space for your hand. I was a side writer in the early years of school and trained myself so I wouldn't smudge my writing. (We learnt to write with ball points and the ink in them smudged too!) I can still remember the side of my hand covered in spots of blue biro ink.

One way to try may be to turn your paper clockwise as that gives you more room for your hand. When I was at Uni, people noticed that I wrote vertically down the page (ie, I turned the paper 90 degrees) - I had no idea I was doing it until it was pointed out to me. Now I turn the paper about 45 - 55 degrees, depending on where on the page I'm writing and how much room I have.

 

Thanks! did you just teach yourself to underwrite on your own? i've tried tilting the paper, i think it's just gonna take LOTS of practice, it looks like i'm in preschool again lol.