Choosing A Hand (Rounded Nib?)

[kvz]

Hi everyone

 

I'm awaiting my first fountain pen in the mail - lamy safari f and pilot metropolitan m - both are rounded nibs. I am a student and I need to write high volumes, and also quickly. I have found that my handwriting becomes atrocious when I write fast, because I have a problem forming letters such as r and u's as I accidentally skip these strokes because I'm writing quickly and also a lot of other factors. So, I want to learn a new hand that I can use a rounded nib to use. Do you have any suggestions as to any hands that can be written quickly and neatly with a rounded nib? I quite like the look of the italic hand, but do I need to have an italic nib to write like that? I know changing my handwriting and learning a new hand takes time and practice, but because I have break off school for 6 weeks, I think I can use this time effectively to practice everyday and hopefully get some progress! After browsing the forums, I am extremely jealous at the beautiful, stunning handwriting that it seems like everyone on FPN has!

 

Normal vs Fast speed - some FP i found in my house

Wouldn't let me attach a photo of my atrocious fast writing - too big file

 

 

Please leave me any tips, pointers, criticisms, recommendations for learning hands etc.

 

Much appreciated,

Kevin

[smk]

Kevin - it looks to me that you are already employing a number of 'efficiency' schemes in your handwriting. You are joining letters where it makes sense based on your letter forms and not joining where it hinders your flow. I think this is how it should be.

 

Learning a new style will slow you down in the beginning and might not give you all the speed you want in the end. In my opinion, you would fare better with practicing for speed and clarity in the style you write in. I find it easy to read and pleasant to look at. You have an excellent starting point.

 

For additional speed, you might want to consider some abbreviations and shortcuts e.g. w/ for 'with', the mathematical signs for 'therefore' and 'since' etc.

 

Salman

[linearM]

I'd say try the Palmer method. It is intended to be legible and quickly written, a business script. There is nothing fancy about it, but it isn't ugly either. Also the rounded nib would be the most appropriate for the style.

[WirsPlm]

Don't worry, there's lots and lots of fountain pen users who have terrible handwriting (just take a look at all the threads asking for help), you're definitely not alone.

 

As for quick-but-legible writing, I'm in your same boat and found that a couple things really helped.

 

These Spencerian exercises help a lot, tracing over the lines helps practices fine control and making your arm go where you want it to: http://www.iampeth.com/lessons/spencerian/new_standard/spencer_new_standard_page3.html I found my writing improved noticeably as I traced over the exercises regularly.

 

Also, just taking a few minutes while sitting somewhere to practice problem letters (also words with problem letters in them) helped. Go slow at the start, and then once you can write a word clearly at a slow speed go a bit faster (you'll want to write at your normal speed to start out with, resist this urge until you can write the letter clearly). This works anywhere you have a pen, paper and 2 minutes, so you can get a surprising amount of practice in that way (be careful not to overdo it, you can get handstrain from handwriting just like from typing).

 

I also found that part of the problem was being uncomfortable writing for long periods, and I'm in the process of switching to writing from my shoulder instead of my wrist (I already used about the right grip), using a bunch of tips found here: http://www.paperpenalia.com/handwriting.html These really helped with feeling comfortable writing for longer periods, it's definitely still something I have to think about but it's worth the effort to make the switch.

 

 

[HDoug]

I'm with smk on this. Don't change hands, practice for speed. It's like learning to play a musical instrument. Practice slowly and speed up gradually. Practice letters and letter combinations that are giving you probs and gradually speed that up. Never go to the point where legibility deteriorates. Be mindful that you may not be able to write fast enough to keep up with what you need to. You may need to learn codes and abbreviations to allow you to clearly reconstruct what was going on at the time.

And slightly OT, when I have to take notes I use a Livescribe digital that syncs audio with what I'm writing.

 

Doug

[caliken]

I know it's off-topic, but I've never heard of a "Livescribe digital". Can you supply some information about how it works and how you use it?

 

Ken

[kvz]

Kevin - it looks to me that you are already employing a number of 'efficiency' schemes in your handwriting. You are joining letters where it makes sense based on your letter forms and not joining where it hinders your flow. I think this is how it should be.

 

Learning a new style will slow you down in the beginning and might not give you all the speed you want in the end. In my opinion, you would fare better with practicing for speed and clarity in the style you write in. I find it easy to read and pleasant to look at. You have an excellent starting point.

 

For additional speed, you might want to consider some abbreviations and shortcuts e.g. w/ for 'with', the mathematical signs for 'therefore' and 'since' etc.

 

Salman

 

Thanks Salman, I particularly find specific letters hindering my flow such as "r, w, z, k, u". When I'm writing fast especially with words like "minimum" I find that when check the word, I have too little down strokes, or am missing parts of the word. What are the best ways of joining those 5 letters and other words for best flow? I think I should slow down and practice joining these 5 letters and the rest of my letters.

[HDoug]

I know it's off-topic, but I've never heard of a "Livescribe digital". Can you supply some information about how it works and how you use it?

 

Ken

 

It's a combination of audio recorder and pen. The very useful gimmick is that it synchronizes what you write (using special paper) with what is being recorded so you can go back and hear what was being recorded when you wrote something just by tapping what you wrote.

 

It's a compulsive notetakers dream. When the lecturer says, "These are the four essential elements you have to remember..." then rattles off a bunch of stuff at high speed, you can go back and listen to what he said, and write them down if you want. With a regular pen you're lost.

 

The great disadvantage of the Livescribe is that the pen part is ballpoint. Someone here had a similar gizmo that was fountain pen, but that was only in concept stage. That's a shame.

 

Here's the Livescribe page.

 

Doug

[smk]

 

Thanks Salman, I particularly find specific letters hindering my flow such as "r, w, z, k, u". When I'm writing fast especially with words like "minimum" I find that when check the word, I have too little down strokes, or am missing parts of the word. What are the best ways of joining those 5 letters and other words for best flow? I think I should slow down and practice joining these 5 letters and the rest of my letters.

 

You are most welcome Kevin.

 

I think the Business Hand provides a good baseline for letter formation at speed in my opinion. I think it'll be a good starting point for ideas that you can then develop into your own e.g. the r is much quicker to execute.

 

As for minimum, I'll just write min. when taking notes, a down arrow for 'decreasing', 'lower' etc., an up arrow for 'increasing', 'higher' and so on.

 

Salman

[kvz]

 

You are most welcome Kevin.

 

I think the Business Hand provides a good baseline for letter formation at speed in my opinion. I think it'll be a good starting point for ideas that you can then develop into your own e.g. the r is much quicker to execute.

 

 

I took a look at the business hand - is it this http://palmermethod.com/ ? I don't quite like the look of their sample though

[smk]

Try this: http://www.iampeth.com/lessons/spencerian/new_standard/spencer_new_standard_page0.html

 

I'm suggesting this only as a starting point, I personally find the shape of the 'r' in the example quick and easy to execute. The 'k' and 'z' are good starting points for efficient execution too. I'll upload a picture of some variations as soon as I get a chance.

 

Salman

[caliken]

Here's the Livescribe page.

 

Doug

Thanks, Doug - that's really interesting.

 

Ken

[Mickey]

If your goal is to clean up and eventually accelerate your present handwriting, I'd recommend you look at basic Spencerian or Ames Business writing. I don't recommend Palmer, because I believe there is a disconnect in the method between the strokes (process) and the architecture (product). Consequently, it tends to degrades rather dramatically with speed.

 

If your goal were to rebuild your handwriting, I would recommend italic, primarily because the architecture is front and center in the learning process (at least in the instructional materials I've seen). I would not however recommend it for increasing speed and legibility. I learned italic in the early 80s to repair my own handwriting (Noble, a Palmer near-clone poorly embedded). Italic became and remained my default handwriting until about 2 years ago when I learned Spencerian using the original Spencer Brothers and Michael Sull practice books. I now write both hands comfortably and with roughly equal frequency. In my experience, Monoline Spencer and the closely related business hands are faster, and italic somewhat more fun to write.

 

Disclaimer: I have no dog in this race. I am not a teacher of handwriting nor am I peddling any particular method. I will admit to an antipathy to Palmer, which I see as an inferior repackaging of Spencerian principles without the principles. (With apologies to Flannery O'Connor and Hoover Shoats.)