Four simple tips to improve your handwriting

Do you write with pen and paper? If you have concerns about the legibility of your handwriting or you feel you lack practice because write mainly with keyboards; here are three tips that will help change the way you write and improve your handwriting.

1 – Choose your tools carefully

The way your pen glides on the paper is responsible for how your handwriting will look. The same word looks different when written with a ball pen, a pencil or a fountain pen. Try different ones until you find the perfect one for you, and keep it at hand to use regularly. The same applies to paper; you will find it easier to write on a smooth surface, or maybe you prefer a more textured paper, there is plenty to choose from in the market.

2 – See your letters as the sum of strokes, not as individual shapes

At school, we learn 26 different shapes for the letters. We carefully copy them and try hard to reproduce their exact forms because how they look is essential. But the focus on mastering those shapes will soon change to speed and accuracy. At that point, our handwriting becomes more natural, and it will develop into a personal and individual form of writing, distinctive but, sometimes, impossible to read.
Returning to the basic strokes will improve legibility. The easiest way of achieving that is by grouping similar shapes and reproducing their strokes always in the same way.
You can try the following groups or create your own.

3 – Use the space to your advantage

To help to better differentiate between letters, there are three spaces you have to take into account when writing, as next picture shows. Giving each stroke its proper position, helps enormously when reading, and this is the purpose of ascended and descendent strokes.

4 – And finally, slow down and ‘see’ your writing

Next time you need to write a note, take your time. First, think of what to write and then put pen to paper and focus on the ‘picture’ each word makes. Or write it once and then transcribe One word at the time carefully, looking at the whole writing. Seeing what the letters look like will help you to keep doing the same strokes for the new ones.

I hope you try these tips and they help you as your distinctive handwriting is part of who you are. Remember to avoid comparing your handwriting to others’. Always check your progress before-and-after practising. Play with different possibilities but keep the individuality of your distinctive handwriting.

There are no more excuses for being scruffy now. And please, share your practice papers with me and keep in touch if you need more help.

Until next week!