Penmanship is a fading art. The printers and computer started the massacre and now cell phones are here to finish the job. The school days were torture for few students like me, for we were severely reprimanded for our messy work. This hasn’t changed since and now we regret it sometimes. Those with clean and lovely handwriting will never understand our dilemma. The art of writing is a basic representation men can have; it is rudimentary and uses basic skills. Now when we are judged on basic of our messy work, aren’t we at disadvantage? Don’t we feel let down by the look of our exam papers, don’t we wonder that a better handwriting might have added a couple of more marks. Restarting the process is tedious, so what do we do? Well here are 10 lovely ways to beat the mess. Follow it and see the magic. Make sure that all the points are followed for they interconnect and hey, better late than never right?
1. Persistence
Lastly, persistence is the key here. Keep practicing. Make sure to use pen and paper as much as you can. In the era of Laptops writing isn’t as important a necessity as it was before. So make conscious efforts of using a paper and pen. Check the frequently occurring problems like spacing lining crowding etc. Now focus on them in the course of improvement. Gradually a change will occur. As the hand is used to operating a certain way, it may take a while to shift to newer styles. Thus be patient. It will pay off.
Using the above pointers, soon you will write off your own cards and thank you notes. Good Luck!
2. Begin with Baby steps
Now we have the tools to work, the journal to write in and the correct way to write. Moving to what to write. Start with alphabets. The small letters and capitals both. Practice them. Slog away till they are all he same size and shape. When this is done, move to sentences, Quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog is said to be best sentence to work with. It has all the letters. Experiment with the styles based on the analyses. Here Dolche list is very helpful it is a list of words most often used in English language. Practice them to get a hang of the style you chose. This is a good time to choose the curve style of the tail-letters like y,g,j etc. Create your own style, keeping the base firm.
3. Progress charts
There is no better way to change the way you write than start with the progress chart. Start with the way you want to write, have the best examples of written words which inspire you. This will keep you motivated. The last page should have your current work, a reference to judge the progress.
4. Air it pen it
Extension of the point covered in title no.7 Exchange your air-guitar, air-boxing for air-pen. Use your fingers to write. This will help train the shoulder and forearm muscles. Next step is to practice the shapes. This may seem really lame but they are the basic shapes that help with the words. The lines, waves, zig-zigs, mounds, curves etc. this will loosen up your hand and make the shapes habitual. The uniformity will bring the beauty to your work.
5. Analyze and analyze some more
Now that we have established the technical aspect, let’s move on to the art part of it. Begin with understanding your style and method. Write out a paragraph. Then look at the loops, spaces, lining, alignment, slant etc. Check your primary shape. The size of the letter also matters so keep a tab on it. Infer where you lack and make a list of the problem area. They need special attention. A lot of space can be as of putting as no space at all. The neatness and proper uniform slant is important. Slowly start working on problems. Wonders don’t occur all of a sudden so give it time.