Handwriting...help?

[ZachCharge]

Hail,

I got crap handwriting...most people got crap handwriting...My teacher started marking our english SACS yet was only able to mark 1 in two hours (mine...heh). Creative piece was good and all but for about 10 minutes I was told how I have to improve my handwriting, same speech I have gotten from every english and most primary school teachers...

Soo.....what CAN I do to learn how to write neat and fast. If I have time, I write...to a readable standard, but...I need to learn to write good and fast...

[TonyHem]

slow down and write legibly and keep that "neatness" and gradually you're speed should improve.
or generally I see people write with their pen slightly slanted, which they can do fast and can generally be read alright.

[/0]

hmm maybe experiment with your grip. If I grip the pen too low I get tired very fast, but I can write neatly. If I grip the pen too high my accuracy decreases but it requires less stamina.
If you are writing connected maybe try writing without connections, it can often make things more legible (with only a small sacrifice in writing time) and it didn't take me long to master.
I would also try to maintain the same writing angle for as long as possible. If you change the angle at which the pen hits the paper, the letters can also change their slant, which looks bad. Try to keep consistent, whatever you choose.

[ZachCharge]

I stopped joint writing to make it more readable ever since Year 6 finished :p

[ninwa]

What kind of pen do you use?
I've found that my handwriting is nicer with one of those er ... ink pens (cf. ballpoint, I know all pens use ink but hopefully you know what I mean =_=)

[TrueTears]

For some reason, I find my handwriting is neater when I use a pencil instead of pen.

[lacoste]

What kind of pen do you use?
I've found that my handwriting is nicer with one of those er ... ink pens (cf. ballpoint, I know all pens use ink but hopefully you know what I mean =_=)

Do you mean fineliners for art etc but not actually the finerliner. perhaps the ink from the fineliner

lol

[ninwa]

For some reason, I find my handwriting is neater when I use a pencil instead of pen.

but you have to use pen in the exam, so might as well practise using a pen

Do you mean fineliners for art etc but not actually the finerliner. perhaps the ink from the fineliner

lol

lol I feel so dumb. I mean like ... the watery ink type pens ... bit like fineliners yeah ...

GEL INK PENS. I think that's what they're called!!!

[EvangelionZeta]

Yep, gel ink would be correct.  Ironically, whilst I prefer gel ink pens, I find my handwriting degraded considerably ever since I started using them.  >_>

[/0]

Hmm it's so smooth writing with gel ink, unless you write really fast you won't get tired easily. I love that stuff... until it starts leaking.

[mark_alec]

I stopped joint writing to make it more readable ever since Year 6 finished :p

The Victorian Cursive Script Hanbook (which we went through in grade 4) was what killed my handwriting.

But I agree, cursive script is not as good (nor particularly faster), so print letters individually instead of running them together (if you don't already.)

[Edmund]

Use a pen, not a pencil. You tend to make more mistakes writing with pencil.

No gel pens, use ballpoint pens like the Papermate ones (Kilometrico?)

Increase font size.

Write slowly.

[ninwa]

No gel pens

... especially if you're left-handed
I still reckon they help you write faster though.

My exam handwriting is a kind of hybrid between cursive and separate letters, as in I join some letters up but not others, so I don't sacrifice too much speed and it's still readable (somewhat) ...

[champorado]

No gel pens

... especially if you're left-handed
I still reckon they help you write faster though.

Gel pens are horrible, horrible. If you don't want your writing to look like it's whooshed to the left, you have to adjust your grip and arm into a position that slows your writing down to a crawl.

My exam handwriting is a kind of hybrid between cursive and separate letters, as in I join some letters up but not others, so I don't sacrifice too much speed and it's still readable (somewhat) ...

I kinda use a hybrid, as well. Everything is joined except for b, f, g, i, j, p, q, t, x and y. I don't always follow that, but I think that's what happens for the most part. It's kinda quick. I can't say it's legible, though, haha.

Maybe it's because I'm used to writing in a different way, but trying to write in print is quite slow for me. It doesn't look any better, either. It's just the same crummy letters with no lines in between.

Edmund, yep they're called Kilometricos. The ones I used weren't very comfortable, but they get the job done. (Y) For exams, I think I used some uniball ones. They had pretty grips on them.

[shinny]

Lame enough as it is, my 'custom' exam pen made for the English exam was this with a pacer grip stuck on it (seemed to reduce fatigue), and a Kilometrico ink tube (slipperier than most ballpoint inks, but didn't make my writing go nuts like gel ink would). I personally have horrible pen grip (incorrect finger orientation, and fingers too low down) which causes me to get writing fatigue very quickly and I didn't really have the time to be trying to fix this last year so this pen seemed to help me a lot in the exam.

As for the original question, you'll need to sit down and think about what is causing you your writing problems. The majority of the time, as in mine, it's the grip. Google a good picture of how you should be holding it, and how far from the base, and get used to doing this every time from now on. Next, the other problem (which might be fixed directly from changing your grip, who knows) is that some people write too much with their fingers and not enough with their whole arm. It might help to start off drawing fairly large circles on your page with your new pen grip to adjust to it, and slowly aim to draw smaller ones. Firstly, it'll give you the awesome ability to actually draw perfect circles, and secondly, you'll find that even when you start to draw the smaller circles, you'll get in the habit of using your entire arm for small movements. This'll carry on to using your arm for small letter formation and such later, and this tends to help with speed and legibility and fatigue. Basically, just try googling it and there's a few sites that'll help you.