Recently, I've been doing most of my work in an A5 Filofax. I find, however, that I don't have a good place to rest my hand when I'm writing at the bottom of a page, and my handwriting deteriorates. About 10 years ago, I changed my handwriting from Catholic-school cursive to an Italic style. I was hoping that would make my writing more legible and attractive, but that hasn't necessarily been the case.
Have you ever made a deliberate change to your handwriting?
A couple years ago, my left forearm was sore for a few days. Being a leftie, writing was very uncomfortable. I tried writing with the right hand which proved yo be an extremely slow process. The results looked like chicken scratches. I still practice, so maybe next time I'll be able to read what I write. Maybe I'll get good enough to switch hands depending on which page I'm on. Hmmm.
ReplyDeleteOn a few occasions, I have made a conscious effort to change how I form certain letters, usually on seeing features of other people's handwriting and wanting to incorporate those into my own. I see my writing as a work in progress. I am fussy about it being legible, as I am a doctor and we historically have poor handwriting. I think it comes from all the hours of note-taking at speed! I have tried to fine-tune things so I can write quickly and smoothy (an ink cartridge rollerball helps a lot) while still having legible and attractive writing. My Mum has the nicest "everyday" handwriting I have ever seen - a beautiful, slightly angular script. Apparently she has fine tuned her writing as well - recently I had to access medical records from my childhood, and my Mum's signature on a consent form from 30 years ago was like an immature version of her current script! (She maintains it was because I was such an exhausting child, she was glad she was just able to hold a pen, let alone write elegantly!)
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in this, not from the point of view (necessarily) of changing my handwriting from one style to another, but definitely from the point of view of improving it. Frankly, I'm pretty ashamed of my handwriting (although my capitals are pretty good and draw compliments. The cursive is just awful, and has deteriorated a lot over the years. How did you make this deliberate change? I've looked at the Spencerian method, which produces a beautiful copper-plate style result, but I don't know how to go about beginning a change (or improvement). I spoke with a 'handwriting expert' in London whose details I got from a newspaper article, but she wanted silly money for lessons. I'd be interested to hear more......
ReplyDeleteYes Nan, do tell. I've been told that switching hands when writing, messes with some brain function. That may be true when young, but at 54, this ole brain is pretty much set. I made a deliberate choice, and treat the process as drawing. Plus, I'm ambidextrous so my brain is already programmed to expect "different."
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