Modern times don’t encourage people to write a lot anymore – hence the handwriting of many people is not what it used to be! When I was younger, I did all my writing by hand (and I must admit, I wrote quite neatly) but right now I’m sitting behind my computer screen and I type the words. When I need to take up a pen, I notice that my muscles begin to ache and that the handwriting is not what it once was.
Of course, for some professions you still need to be able to use handwriting. Take a solicitor for example. We still have a law that says that all contracts have to be written by hand, so the handwriting here should be as good as perfect.
The best way to improve your handwriting is by calligraphy. That is the way we learned it when we first had to write words in elementary school. Therefore you’ll need a pen and lined paper. Imo, it doesn’t make a lot of difference whether you use a fountain pen or just an ordinary pen. There were times when a letter written by pen was not quite accepted, but these times are long past.
Calligraphy is practice. To improve your handwriting, you’ll have to practice all the time and keep writing or you might get rusty. My sister is an elementary teacher, and to her experience those who have most problems with writing (who scribble) are the ones who use their fingers to write. They put the full weight of their hand on the paper and they repeatedly pick up their hand as they write.
People who don’t have problems, rest their hands on the paper and leave it there, but their forearms and shoulders move as they write.
With patience and endurance, you can learn to write better. For the best results, you need to handle your pen well. Hold it between your thumb and index finger and let the barrel rest on the middle finger. For a better control and writing angle, the pen should rest over the bottom knuckle of your middle finger. Rest the heel of your hand on the paper.
Hold your pen lightly and sit up straight, but always consider your comfort. If you feel better in another position, don’t worry about it.
As you know you should use the ‘right’ muscles (the ones in your forearms and shoulders) you can train these by writing in the air – or if your kids have a whiteboard, you can use that. Hold the arm in front of you, bend your elbow and write big letters. You’ll notice how your muscles will work towards that. Once you get the feel for it, you can try to reduce the size of your letters.
At a given time, you’ll want to use a pen. Repeat what you did before, and keep your wrist, hand and fingers in proper alignment. Find an example of handwriting you like and might want to imitate – and practice!
