How to learn to write beautifully

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

There are only two keys to success: thoughtful preparation and daily exercise.

1. Decide why you need it

There can be various reasons for wanting to improve handwriting. And you should find yours. First, it will force you to act more consciously and increase your motivation. And secondly, it will tell you which handwriting nuances you need to focus on.

Perhaps you just want to write legibly. Or you feel the need to make your handwriting more "bossy" - to give it confidence, clarity, and showiness. Or maybe you are driven by a purely aesthetic feeling. Deal with yourself, this is important.

2. Assess your current handwriting

Take a piece of paper and write a few sentences on it so that they form two or three paragraphs. Do not try to display the letters "beautifully", write naturally - as you always do.

When you're done, lay the sheet in front of you and analyze any visible handwriting imperfections. Do this not in general ("like a chicken with a paw!"), But trying to highlight specific points.

• The shape of the letters. Are they too narrow and angular? Or, on the contrary, overly rounded, with intricate loops? Maybe they duplicate each other - for example, "p" in your performance looks like "and"?
• Incline. In classic beautiful handwriting, all letters have the same slight slant to the right.
• Height of letters. Ideally, it should be the same and such that the icons are readable. And how are you?
• Writing letters. When analyzing, it may turn out that you depict the same element in different ways. A classic example is the difference in the style of the letter "t": sometimes its printed version is used, and sometimes its written version.
• Spacing between letters. It should also be uniform.
• The arrangement of letters horizontally. They should not jump or go up and down towards the end of the line.
• Pressure. The pressure of the pen on the paper should be uniform throughout the text. But it often happens that in one place we put too much pressure on the pen, and in another, on the contrary, it seems to slide off the paper, which makes the text look sloppy and hard to read.

For clarity, you can emphasize or circle the most "prominent" areas of the text in a contrasting color. This will help you focus on the flaws you want to get rid of. For example, if you notice that the letter "g" comes out of your crumpled, shrinking at the end, in the future you will try to make it more uniform.

3. Find a source of inspiration

Beauty is a relative concept, and “beautiful” (in your opinion) handwriting can be completely different. Look for an example of one you like.

Perhaps it will just be perfectly straight "school" lines:

Or graceful calligraphic:

Or maybe you crave originality and prefer handwriting tilted to the left? If possible, print out the examples you find and place them where they will catch your eye. For example, hang it on the refrigerator door. Attach as a sticker to your monitor. Or over your desk.

This will help the “correct” handwriting gain a foothold in visual memory and encourage you to subconsciously copy the “good” examples.

4. Do exercises for your hands

Handwriting is responsible for what physiologists call fine motor skills - a set of coordinated actions of the hand and fingers. If you are trying, and the handwriting is in trouble, then perhaps the problem is just motor skills. There is only one way out: train your hands.

Among the most effective and at the same time simple ways is air writing. Take a pen or pencil, bend your elbow (about 70-80 degrees) and start writing imaginary words right in the air. Make the letters large - in this case, when writing out, not only the hand and fingers will be involved, but the entire limb from the shoulder, including the wrist and forearm. This is important: you get less fatigue if you write with your whole hand, and this will help keep your handwriting more clear and even.

These exercises should be done regularly. For example, spend 3-5 minutes on them in the morning, afternoon and evening.

5. Make sure you hold your pen or pencil correctly

The writing accessory should lie on the left side of the middle finger of your right hand (if you are left-handed, on the right side of the middle finger of your left hand). The tip of your index finger is holding a pen or pencil on top. Large supports on the left (for left-handers - on the right). When you write, your hand should rest on the top joint of your bent little finger.

All three fingers holding the pen or pencil are slightly rounded and do not grip the stationery too hard.

To check for proper grip, lift your index finger. The pen (pencil) must not fall.

6. Pick up quality office supplies

For a handwriting to be close to ideal, you must enjoy writing. So look for accessories that don't scratch the paper, but leave a soft, distinct mark on it. Find the line thickness you like. Experiment with colors.

The quality of the paper should also be approached biasedly. Look for office sheets that are about 90 grams per square meter and have a moderately smooth but not glossy finish.

7. Imagine that you are writing not on paper, but on water

This will make your movements softer and smoother. In addition, you will start to write a little slower, which is an important prerequisite for beautiful handwriting.

8. Practice writing out basic lines

Before you start drawing pretty letters, make sure your hand can remember how to write the basic elements. We are talking about simple vertical and diagonal lines, circles, semicircles.

Only after you learn how to automatically output the verified lines and curls, it is worth moving on to the text.

You can train with the help of special prescriptions, including those designed for future first graders. These manuals are sold in office supply stores and on the Internet. A big plus of the cursives is that they are drawn with lines that will help you control the slope and size of your elements.

Another option to fill your hand is doodling. This is the name of the technique of amateur drawing, based on intuitively selected patterns. Doodling can be done anywhere: at a meeting, on public transport, talking on the phone. All you need is a pen and a notebook, which you will fill in the pages with intuitive patterns.

Dudling develops coordination of movements and the habit of smoothly moving a pen or pencil over paper. And in this technique, you can create real masterpieces. But that's a slightly different story.

9. Practice writing letters every day

Here, again, ordinary writing will help. Practice them daily - the hand must learn the correct spelling.

It takes 21 days to develop habits and automatic actions. It's not too much if the award is truly beautiful handwriting that you can be proud of.

Little life hack: when starting to write texts, at first try to display letters a little larger than usual. These symbols are easier to parse. This means that it will be easier for you to find and eliminate flaws in the form, slope, spacing between letters.

As your handwriting improves, you can return to normal line size.