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I recently started working on fixing my handwriting, which was often so bad that I couldn't even read my own notes. I found an excellent free resource, Handwrit

I recently started working on fixing my handwriting, which was often so bad that I couldn't even read my own notes. I found an excellent free resource, Handwriting Repair: The Italic Approach http://briem.net/8/2/205.html http://briem.net/8/2/205.html After going through the beginning worksheets a few times, I've already made a tremendous improvement. The overwrite with zigzag and trace zigzag approach actually works quite well, even though it seems repetitive at first. But you're learning to change the easy-to-mess-up circular movements that most handwriting uses into oval movements, which can be executed more quickly despite looking more consistently nice. Something else helpful for me was getting an inexpensive Pilot Metropolitan fountain pen. With this pen I don't need to exert any pressure at all; the use of pressure is something that messes up your handwriting, and of course also leads to hand cramps. When you first begin to correct your handwriting, you will need to write more slowly. But as your proficiency increases, so will your speed.

vanderZwan 9y ago
Thanks, that is a very nice link! I'll give it a try, being a lefty with horrible handwriting. Do you know if that font is anywhere on-line? The author suggests not focusing on the letters at first, so I was thinking: what if we make a scrambled character generator that creates work-sheets with non-words to trace? This might help with the unlearning process.
- peapicker 9y ago
  The fonts (Briem Handwriting and Briem Handwriting Italic) are in the .zip package on this page: http://briem.net/4/4201/4201_4051.html http://briem.net/4/4201/4201_4051.html
soared 9y ago
Instead of imrpoving my existing (sloppy but fast) handwriting I learned a secondary way to write that is much slower but very clear and easy to read. It was fun and I'm glad I did it. I only did about 20 minutes of practice everyday for a week or so. I chose architect style handwriting and it looks really cool. I only use it for filling out forms or other similar things where other people really need to see every letter. https://www.quora.com/Why-do-architects-tend-to-write-in-similar-lettering-handwriting-Is-it-a-stylistic-thing-or-is-there-a-practical-reason https://www.quora.com/Why-do-architects-tend-to-write-in-sim...
- jlg23 9y ago
  At least in Western Europe architects have to follow an industry standard that governs fonts and stroke width (afaik 2 different widths, depending on context). 40 years ago, learning to write in this style was even part of the curriculum in the GDR.
  - rbonvall 9y ago
    Note that handwriting styles are not called fonts, but hands. A font is basically a set of prefabricated letters.
- sigi45 9y ago
  I did something similar but thanks to my coworker. I was writing 'normal' like what you learn in germany in school and was unable to read it after i wrote it. I talked about it with my coworker and he told me he changed his style (to something very similar to what you linked to). Now i write that way and it is much better.
- fuzzfactor 9y ago
  I learned to write by copying the font from my mother's high school typewriter, built in the 1920's it was older than she was. There was no numeral 1, it was unnecessary since people just used the lower case L. My first variable. But my font was way out of date even for that distant decade. Looked older than newsprint of the time. Anyway, when I got to school it was easy to learn printing the blackboard way, and some of us then did cursive writing and were promoted to third grade at the end of the year. So for the good part of a year I did cursive but before the next September they closed that school. It was like getting a promotion but the employer still closes beyond your control before you can even get into duty. Well instead I had to go to a place where they would only put me in second grade since they didn't want me to be so much younger than the other kids. They did not do any writing their first year and were just going to start printing with the big pencils. There would be no cursive allowed until third grade so I went back to a year of printing instead of handwriting. It was easy to see that conformity took precedence over advancement in such an institutional environment. By the time I got to third grade I could already print faster than many adults could do longhand, I was not going back to my slow cursive, and I made it perfectly clear that I was already more advanced when I got there a year earlier. Not an encouraging academic experience, but seemingly common. It evolved into a form of fast printing eventually toward what looked like shorthand with hieroglyphics, not readable by others at all. I still change fonts all the time. There are no remaing samples of my actual handwriting. So that's why my handwriting sucks. It doesn't even exist any more. However numbers need to be so unmistakeably readable when a lot is at stake, letters too but I start with numbers. Naturally I used the same character (a straight line) for 1 and lower case L for the longest time, even though I had started with serifs on upper case i and thoroughly dotting my lower case i's to avoid confusion. Eventually all lower case L needs a little tail. Turns out to be the lower case L is the one I could actually do without. Gotta have numbers. Basically, I encourage conscious calligraphy or "lettering" (drafting room or comic book style) in notebooks and documents. In an international laboratory you really don't want a trailing numeral 9 being confused for a lower case G meaning grams. With cultures that cross their 7, consistency is important since often there is also an upstroke on the 1 which can throw those off who are unfamiliar. Shortening the upstroke can be a good move but you want data recording to come naturally and not require conformity for its own sake. I use an uncrossed 7 with a bold serif but not wild enough to ever be confused with a 9 myself. 4 must never be confused with A or 9, nor 8 with B, or 5 with S. Zeros are good crossed when it might be helpful. Stuff like that. It must make sense. I never want to make people feel like bureaucracy is more important than the characters they are working with. Not a good feeling at all. If your handwriting sucks because it's difficult for others to read or decipher, then in that case consider it a special occasion and use calligraphy.
manibatra 9y ago
Thanks for the awesome link! I totally agree with writing slow. My handwriting is much worse than it shows on the post. I had to write slow to actually make it legible.

vanderZwan 9y ago

Thanks, that is a very nice link! I'll give it a try, being a lefty with horrible handwriting. Do you know if that font is anywhere on-line? The author suggests not focusing on the letters at first, so I was thinking: what if we make a scrambled character generator that creates work-sheets with non-words to trace? This might help with the unlearning process.

peapicker 9y ago
The fonts (Briem Handwriting and Briem Handwriting Italic) are in the .zip package on this page: http://briem.net/4/4201/4201_4051.html http://briem.net/4/4201/4201_4051.html

soared 9y ago

Instead of imrpoving my existing (sloppy but fast) handwriting I learned a secondary way to write that is much slower but very clear and easy to read. It was fun and I'm glad I did it. I only did about 20 minutes of practice everyday for a week or so. I chose architect style handwriting and it looks really cool. I only use it for filling out forms or other similar things where other people really need to see every letter. https://www.quora.com/Why-do-architects-tend-to-write-in-similar-lettering-handwriting-Is-it-a-stylistic-thing-or-is-there-a-practical-reason https://www.quora.com/Why-do-architects-tend-to-write-in-sim...

jlg23 9y ago
At least in Western Europe architects have to follow an industry standard that governs fonts and stroke width (afaik 2 different widths, depending on context). 40 years ago, learning to write in this style was even part of the curriculum in the GDR.
- rbonvall 9y ago
  Note that handwriting styles are not called fonts, but hands. A font is basically a set of prefabricated letters.
sigi45 9y ago
I did something similar but thanks to my coworker. I was writing 'normal' like what you learn in germany in school and was unable to read it after i wrote it. I talked about it with my coworker and he told me he changed his style (to something very similar to what you linked to). Now i write that way and it is much better.
fuzzfactor 9y ago
I learned to write by copying the font from my mother's high school typewriter, built in the 1920's it was older than she was. There was no numeral 1, it was unnecessary since people just used the lower case L. My first variable. But my font was way out of date even for that distant decade. Looked older than newsprint of the time. Anyway, when I got to school it was easy to learn printing the blackboard way, and some of us then did cursive writing and were promoted to third grade at the end of the year. So for the good part of a year I did cursive but before the next September they closed that school. It was like getting a promotion but the employer still closes beyond your control before you can even get into duty. Well instead I had to go to a place where they would only put me in second grade since they didn't want me to be so much younger than the other kids. They did not do any writing their first year and were just going to start printing with the big pencils. There would be no cursive allowed until third grade so I went back to a year of printing instead of handwriting. It was easy to see that conformity took precedence over advancement in such an institutional environment. By the time I got to third grade I could already print faster than many adults could do longhand, I was not going back to my slow cursive, and I made it perfectly clear that I was already more advanced when I got there a year earlier. Not an encouraging academic experience, but seemingly common. It evolved into a form of fast printing eventually toward what looked like shorthand with hieroglyphics, not readable by others at all. I still change fonts all the time. There are no remaing samples of my actual handwriting. So that's why my handwriting sucks. It doesn't even exist any more. However numbers need to be so unmistakeably readable when a lot is at stake, letters too but I start with numbers. Naturally I used the same character (a straight line) for 1 and lower case L for the longest time, even though I had started with serifs on upper case i and thoroughly dotting my lower case i's to avoid confusion. Eventually all lower case L needs a little tail. Turns out to be the lower case L is the one I could actually do without. Gotta have numbers. Basically, I encourage conscious calligraphy or "lettering" (drafting room or comic book style) in notebooks and documents. In an international laboratory you really don't want a trailing numeral 9 being confused for a lower case G meaning grams. With cultures that cross their 7, consistency is important since often there is also an upstroke on the 1 which can throw those off who are unfamiliar. Shortening the upstroke can be a good move but you want data recording to come naturally and not require conformity for its own sake. I use an uncrossed 7 with a bold serif but not wild enough to ever be confused with a 9 myself. 4 must never be confused with A or 9, nor 8 with B, or 5 with S. Zeros are good crossed when it might be helpful. Stuff like that. It must make sense. I never want to make people feel like bureaucracy is more important than the characters they are working with. Not a good feeling at all. If your handwriting sucks because it's difficult for others to read or decipher, then in that case consider it a special occasion and use calligraphy.

manibatra 9y ago

Thanks for the awesome link! I totally agree with writing slow. My handwriting is much worse than it shows on the post. I had to write slow to actually make it legible.