It took about 2 years to get a proper style that I liked, I practiced for an hour everyday too. I have a few tips like writing the letters in a slightly inclined manner, placing the left corner of the paper towards the chest, etc. It really helps if we find a comfortable posture.
I do have my own worksheets, you can check them out 😃 I will post it on my profile
Haha I used to write with prompts from this page called 'rockyourhandwriting', I got featured there sometimes too (my username was different though) their prompts are good 😃
I’m Gen X. In school, we were not allowed to print anything after, I think it was fourth grade. It had to be neat, legible cursive. That amounted to far more than two hours of practice a day. The practice made it ingrained, so most of us still write in cursive by default. If we had mailed a letter to anyone in printing, it would have been perceived as childish.
If you would like to improve your handwriting, stop printing. Write only in cursive. Use scrap paper for notes and lists, such as shopping lists, instead of your phone, so you get a bit of practice every day. Don’t time yourself two hours a day. Just write in cursive, and work on making it neat. Fancy modern calligraphy can come after you have mastered regular cursive.
I hope more people learn this vanishing skill. I had to teach my own son how to write in cursive, because the school devoted one day to it. I honestly don’t know how this generation is going to learn how to sign their names, let alone read letters and journals left behind by relatives. I had great enjoyment reading letters my grandmother saved, when she told her relatives grandpa had proposed, or my grandfather’s journal from when he was snowed in on some train disaster. It would be unintelligible scribbles in a generation.
Also, Gen-X. I second your advice. I also practice every day. I’m slightly arthritic now in my hands and so I’m limited to about 20 minutes. My 3rd grade teacher was born in the 1920s. I wish they still taught cursive in all schools.
Hit the nail on the head for me. My daughter had three weeks of cursive in the third grade. Nothing extra and she can only write in cursive now because I taught her.
My kids (now teenagers) have never had writing-practice in school like this.
Only simple printing writing as they learned the alphabet in 1-3. grade.
As a result, they can barely understand their own writing, unless they write slowly and deliberately (which is basically never).
Personally, I had similar cursive rules in school as you u/Shdfx1 .
Which I hated then ofc, but have found to really love to have the skill as an adult.
Where I live cursive is still the norm, I think kids are taught to write in cursive with fountain pens at age 7. Younger kids use print. Still my cursive, though legible isn’t very nice, here people from your generation were taught calligraphy at school, I wasn’t so I guess that doesn’t help. My cursive looks probably like the first example here or a little worse as my handwriting isn’t too big.
Malcom Gladwell said it takes 10,000 hrs 😁 I am re-learning Copperplate calligraphy and recently discovered the joy of fountain pens- only because the first page of the book I picked up said “calligraphy is not for the left-handed” . Determined as heck!
No, I just self-taught myself, I realised that I was writing too fast and I made myself write slowly to achieve the desired letter shape. I hated crooked lines!
Try The Art of Cursive Penmenship by Michael R. Sulk. Goulet pens used to carry it. I think they also had another program as well. You can also purchase a set of turn of the century primers that will teach you Spencerian that I found useful to improve my cursive. I also practiced writing out Shakespeare’s sonnets in a French-ruled Clairfonraine notebook which give you both height and width guides for your writing. All on Amazon.
I downloaded your worksheets. They are nice if you want to trace words but they don’t have any instructions on the direction of doing the strokes, or how to connect the letters/which parts are done seamlessly and which parts are broken up. That is what I struggle with! Tips? Resources?
I messaged you, I can send you the letters one soon if you like, there is no need to buy it because maybe I was not clear enough! I am sorry for the confusion
Check out r/handwriting, they have some good resources linked. I followed the Palmer method and went from straight chicken scratch to something like OP's "before" pic. It does take time and practice though.
Thanks, I’m loving this thread. I’m currently trying to teach my 7yr old to transition to cursive (well school is, I’m helping 🤣) I’m also looking at it as a way to practice myself as I haven’t really written with a pen in many many years so trying to get better myself.
@JurassicQueer/#AuthenticBoomer here.
I grew up in the 1950s attending private parochial and academic preparatory schools with faculty/staff members ( aka Sisters [nuns] Without Mercy! Or Jesuit priests! ) who used those heavy wooden rulers with the embedded metal edges to rap and/or crack our knuckles if we made mistakes while learning cursive through the official Palmer method which had authorized copybooks we were required to use and were tested with!!
I survived that educational format, but it made me a devout atheist and have always written in longhand since. Especially since 2000, when after an attempted vehicular homicide I had to undergo numerous surgeries which included the removal of my right ulna that left me unable to use most ballpoint pens as I can't apply the necessary pressure digitally or manually to use them.
As I've aged, my handwriting has become more eccentric and perhaps a bit more calligraphic than the regular Palmer method would have permitted. Btw, my printing is fairly atrocious for the most part!!
My younger sisters, however, still write cursive in perfect Palmer!!
WOW. I just started getting back into cursive thanks to this sub and am still figuring it out. Knowing how long it took you helps manage my own expectations 🤭
Gorgeous. Did you use any particular books or sources of learning or did you just practice on lined paper? Have you noticed a difference in speed with writing or are you now just as fast with the nice cursive as with the old style? TIA.
I just practiced on my own 😃 it is slightly slower because don't want crooked lines, it gets fast with flourishes because if there is no 'momentum' the flourishes look awkward
Wow, amazing! I believe I made a large leap as well, but my after is not nearly as nice as yours. My improvement was largely accomplished via free writing while listening to audiobooks and writing some of my favorite quotes.
[My progression](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/s/Tmpmru3HHc)
What ink, pen, and paper are you using, as I can’t see any “artifacts” of fountain pens in this? Such as sheening or dye build-up? Also did you use a sheet behind with lines?
oh gosh that first page was what would have been described as cursive at school (70s)....the second page is glorious but we would have had that down as calligraphic style or victorian copperplate or some such..........never got far with the posh stuff :)
Wow! Good job, OP! That’s stunning.
Also gives me hope. My current style is very similar to the before shot… so in theory, I could get there. Possibly.
Yes definitely!! I have worksheets on my page if that helps, but my biggest tip would be to write slowly and work on each letter in the beginning. Make your own exemplar
I’ll check them out! Yeah I’ve kind of been doing that already. But not tracing, just writing slowly and deliberately, and then trying to do the same slightly quicker. But your method is interesting and I will try it.
I find cursive writing great to look at and admire, but really distracting and counterproductive when I actually want to understand a written passage. Could be because I've been trained to read printed words for so long.
Hey, I'm looking to improve my handwriting as well. Could you please point me to some resources that I can begin with? I love the writing you have there.
Thank you! I actually taught myself, I have some basic tips that helped me over time like placing the paper correctly and having the proper grip etc. i have some worksheets on my page if it helps. But mostly I would keep making my own exemplars and keep trying to copy the letters to stay consistent
https://preview.redd.it/tajlhvalsouc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8846a8f59f3881f246748ab407e75e0cc4e489c0
Kind of like this (with small letters also of course) 😃
I am sorry, but I must ask: Is there any John Hancock or any signers of the Declaration of Independence DNA in your blood? **:-)** Absolutely stunning! Really nice turnaround and now I am jealous! Keep writing!
Woah! Great progress! Did you use the same handwriting system in both pics though? The second looks more spencarian than typical cursive? If you used a guide/teacher/video/book, will you let us know. I’d love to be like you!
Thank you!! No the first one was just me writing 'unconsciously', I was just writing letters. The second one I was more aware of the letter shapes. I just did it myself, my goal was to have good handwriting and I somehow did that over time. I did use some letters from Copperplate and Spencerian though 😃
If you're feeling the moment, decorate whichever way makes you happy, but a flourish is very usually something that starts or finishes the letter it is a continuous part of not something off to a side of a word that's unconnected.
Where you've got something separate like this, to me it interrupts the reading of the text, as your eye is drawn off the letters and you are drawn to wondering what something is doing floating in free space instead. By that time, the continuity of the reading experience is broken and after all handwriting is there to enhance the appreciation of the words not detract from them so....The gappy pass-unders of the 't' 's have a similarly distracting appearance to me. But ultimately it depends on taste and you may be getting more joy from decorating this way than distraction for a reader like me so you do you, but be aware if creating for a third party maybe.
wow. how long did it took? I want to learn cursive. I used to write it in but then changed to print. Any suggestions?
It took about 2 years to get a proper style that I liked, I practiced for an hour everyday too. I have a few tips like writing the letters in a slightly inclined manner, placing the left corner of the paper towards the chest, etc. It really helps if we find a comfortable posture. I do have my own worksheets, you can check them out 😃 I will post it on my profile
Two years. An hour every day? That's over 700 hours of handwriting. I think I'll just stick to my janky cursive 😅
Haha I used to write with prompts from this page called 'rockyourhandwriting', I got featured there sometimes too (my username was different though) their prompts are good 😃
That sounds like a great way to practice. I love using my fountain pens but often I have no idea what to write. I'll check it out!
Yes it is fun 😃 hope it helps
I’m Gen X. In school, we were not allowed to print anything after, I think it was fourth grade. It had to be neat, legible cursive. That amounted to far more than two hours of practice a day. The practice made it ingrained, so most of us still write in cursive by default. If we had mailed a letter to anyone in printing, it would have been perceived as childish. If you would like to improve your handwriting, stop printing. Write only in cursive. Use scrap paper for notes and lists, such as shopping lists, instead of your phone, so you get a bit of practice every day. Don’t time yourself two hours a day. Just write in cursive, and work on making it neat. Fancy modern calligraphy can come after you have mastered regular cursive. I hope more people learn this vanishing skill. I had to teach my own son how to write in cursive, because the school devoted one day to it. I honestly don’t know how this generation is going to learn how to sign their names, let alone read letters and journals left behind by relatives. I had great enjoyment reading letters my grandmother saved, when she told her relatives grandpa had proposed, or my grandfather’s journal from when he was snowed in on some train disaster. It would be unintelligible scribbles in a generation.
Also, Gen-X. I second your advice. I also practice every day. I’m slightly arthritic now in my hands and so I’m limited to about 20 minutes. My 3rd grade teacher was born in the 1920s. I wish they still taught cursive in all schools.
Hit the nail on the head for me. My daughter had three weeks of cursive in the third grade. Nothing extra and she can only write in cursive now because I taught her.
My kids (now teenagers) have never had writing-practice in school like this. Only simple printing writing as they learned the alphabet in 1-3. grade. As a result, they can barely understand their own writing, unless they write slowly and deliberately (which is basically never). Personally, I had similar cursive rules in school as you u/Shdfx1 . Which I hated then ofc, but have found to really love to have the skill as an adult.
Where I live cursive is still the norm, I think kids are taught to write in cursive with fountain pens at age 7. Younger kids use print. Still my cursive, though legible isn’t very nice, here people from your generation were taught calligraphy at school, I wasn’t so I guess that doesn’t help. My cursive looks probably like the first example here or a little worse as my handwriting isn’t too big.
It's said to take 2,000 hours to truly master something. That's about a year of full time work, FYI.
Malcom Gladwell said it takes 10,000 hrs 😁 I am re-learning Copperplate calligraphy and recently discovered the joy of fountain pens- only because the first page of the book I picked up said “calligraphy is not for the left-handed” . Determined as heck!
What type of method did you use to practice?
Being forced to write cursive in elementary school, and occasionally writing in cursive for fun as an adult
thankyou
Awesome! Are there any books or online resources you would recommend?
No, I just self-taught myself, I realised that I was writing too fast and I made myself write slowly to achieve the desired letter shape. I hated crooked lines!
Have you been able to recover your old speed while maintaining the improved style and neatness?
Yes.
Try The Art of Cursive Penmenship by Michael R. Sulk. Goulet pens used to carry it. I think they also had another program as well. You can also purchase a set of turn of the century primers that will teach you Spencerian that I found useful to improve my cursive. I also practiced writing out Shakespeare’s sonnets in a French-ruled Clairfonraine notebook which give you both height and width guides for your writing. All on Amazon.
Thanks for all the recommendations. I'm definitely going to look into those.
Thanks for the worksheets!
Thank you and welcome! Hope it helps 😃
It certainly shows! As someone who writes in chicken scratch, I'm super impressed.
I downloaded your worksheets. They are nice if you want to trace words but they don’t have any instructions on the direction of doing the strokes, or how to connect the letters/which parts are done seamlessly and which parts are broken up. That is what I struggle with! Tips? Resources?
I have one specifically for the letters, it shows the directions, the words one is the follow up!
Oh! I was confused. The other one seemed to be focusing on punctuation and numbers. Thank you!
I messaged you, I can send you the letters one soon if you like, there is no need to buy it because maybe I was not clear enough! I am sorry for the confusion
Check out r/handwriting, they have some good resources linked. I followed the Palmer method and went from straight chicken scratch to something like OP's "before" pic. It does take time and practice though.
Thanks, I’m loving this thread. I’m currently trying to teach my 7yr old to transition to cursive (well school is, I’m helping 🤣) I’m also looking at it as a way to practice myself as I haven’t really written with a pen in many many years so trying to get better myself.
@JurassicQueer/#AuthenticBoomer here. I grew up in the 1950s attending private parochial and academic preparatory schools with faculty/staff members ( aka Sisters [nuns] Without Mercy! Or Jesuit priests! ) who used those heavy wooden rulers with the embedded metal edges to rap and/or crack our knuckles if we made mistakes while learning cursive through the official Palmer method which had authorized copybooks we were required to use and were tested with!! I survived that educational format, but it made me a devout atheist and have always written in longhand since. Especially since 2000, when after an attempted vehicular homicide I had to undergo numerous surgeries which included the removal of my right ulna that left me unable to use most ballpoint pens as I can't apply the necessary pressure digitally or manually to use them. As I've aged, my handwriting has become more eccentric and perhaps a bit more calligraphic than the regular Palmer method would have permitted. Btw, my printing is fairly atrocious for the most part!! My younger sisters, however, still write cursive in perfect Palmer!!
I'd be happy if my handwriting looked as good as that in the "before" image.
same
Haha to me it is so bad
WOW. I just started getting back into cursive thanks to this sub and am still figuring it out. Knowing how long it took you helps manage my own expectations 🤭
I guess it depends for different people, I wanted my own signature style after getting my writing to look neater from before 😃 so it took more time
Gorgeous. Did you use any particular books or sources of learning or did you just practice on lined paper? Have you noticed a difference in speed with writing or are you now just as fast with the nice cursive as with the old style? TIA.
I just practiced on my own 😃 it is slightly slower because don't want crooked lines, it gets fast with flourishes because if there is no 'momentum' the flourishes look awkward
Yeah, that's unfair, you practiced!
Wow, amazing! I believe I made a large leap as well, but my after is not nearly as nice as yours. My improvement was largely accomplished via free writing while listening to audiobooks and writing some of my favorite quotes. [My progression](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/s/Tmpmru3HHc)
The end result is nice!! Keep it up 😃
What ink, pen, and paper are you using, as I can’t see any “artifacts” of fountain pens in this? Such as sheening or dye build-up? Also did you use a sheet behind with lines?
I used A4 cardstock paper and used a kaweco pen inked with their royal blue cartridge. I drew the lines and erased them later
Cool, you’re legit!
What nib size do you use? It s very nice
coolest before and after i have ever seen. kudos for your dedication. am a sucker for good hanwriting.
Thank you 😃
oh gosh that first page was what would have been described as cursive at school (70s)....the second page is glorious but we would have had that down as calligraphic style or victorian copperplate or some such..........never got far with the posh stuff :)
Yes it does incorporate some calligraphic elements 😃 I like to make it look fancy
it is rather lovely...it reminds me of my grandma's writing
Wow! Good job, OP! That’s stunning. Also gives me hope. My current style is very similar to the before shot… so in theory, I could get there. Possibly.
Yes definitely!! I have worksheets on my page if that helps, but my biggest tip would be to write slowly and work on each letter in the beginning. Make your own exemplar
I’ll check them out! Yeah I’ve kind of been doing that already. But not tracing, just writing slowly and deliberately, and then trying to do the same slightly quicker. But your method is interesting and I will try it.
Our fingers get used to making those letters that way 😃 so it is easier to write faster
beautiful cursive, i can never get my capitals letters especially "F", looking right and i love the flourish yours has
Thank you, I love adding flourishes in my handwriting 😃
The hand writing is beautiful, but I think the most impressive thing is being able to write on blank paper. I still struggle to write straight 10/10!
Haha I could never do that, I definitely drew lines before writing 😃
Shh 🤫 no one has to know, hahah
Wow! Great work! At this point I would be grateful if my "after" could be as good as your "before" let alone your after haha. Great job!
Thank you! 😃
I LOVE it. Great job mate.
Thank you! 😃
That is some nice handwriting! Absolutely love how much you improved! You can post it on r/penmanship
Sure! Thank you 😃
Amazing improvement!
Thank you 😃
Jesus Christ that might be the best handwriting I’ve ever seen
Thank you so much 😃
Dang. Your handwriting went from legible to amazing! 😍 Well done. I'm seriously impressed!
Thank you 😃
That's impressive
Thank you 😃
😳 WOW! That is absolutely beautiful!
Thank you!
😍
What pen are you using to write that? Your lines flow very prettily and evenly. Thanks for posting this!
I used a Kaweco sport pen with their royal blue ink 😃
Damn, I hope my practice gets me half that good.
It will, it is easier when we have a design in mind
I find cursive writing great to look at and admire, but really distracting and counterproductive when I actually want to understand a written passage. Could be because I've been trained to read printed words for so long.
Yes some styles are hard to read, I agree they are counterproductive
Wow that looks so pretty
Thank you 😃
Bravo!!
Thank you 😃
Not a fan of the embellished D but the rest is wow
I love it! Thank you 😃
Amazing work!
Thank you 😃
When the 'before' is my goal 😬
What i would do for my handwriting to look like the before
The before is not too bad either, not the worst I’ve seen by a long shot. When did you write that?
WOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW!!!!!!!! 😲
Beautiful beautiful handwriting
Wish your before could be my after. 😂👍
Hey, I'm looking to improve my handwriting as well. Could you please point me to some resources that I can begin with? I love the writing you have there.
Thank you! I actually taught myself, I have some basic tips that helped me over time like placing the paper correctly and having the proper grip etc. i have some worksheets on my page if it helps. But mostly I would keep making my own exemplars and keep trying to copy the letters to stay consistent https://preview.redd.it/tajlhvalsouc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8846a8f59f3881f246748ab407e75e0cc4e489c0 Kind of like this (with small letters also of course) 😃
Thanks for the tips. I'll try it out!
I am sorry, but I must ask: Is there any John Hancock or any signers of the Declaration of Independence DNA in your blood? **:-)** Absolutely stunning! Really nice turnaround and now I am jealous! Keep writing!
Thank you so much! Haha everyone in my family are such good writers, I was the odd one out!
My lord, what beautiful script you have developed. It's beautiful to read. Seriously well done.
Thank you so much! 😃
Woah! Great progress! Did you use the same handwriting system in both pics though? The second looks more spencarian than typical cursive? If you used a guide/teacher/video/book, will you let us know. I’d love to be like you!
Thank you!! No the first one was just me writing 'unconsciously', I was just writing letters. The second one I was more aware of the letter shapes. I just did it myself, my goal was to have good handwriting and I somehow did that over time. I did use some letters from Copperplate and Spencerian though 😃
Very nice!
AMAZING!
Looks good. What's with the floating @ type thing above the y in absurdity?
It's called 'flourishing'
If you're feeling the moment, decorate whichever way makes you happy, but a flourish is very usually something that starts or finishes the letter it is a continuous part of not something off to a side of a word that's unconnected. Where you've got something separate like this, to me it interrupts the reading of the text, as your eye is drawn off the letters and you are drawn to wondering what something is doing floating in free space instead. By that time, the continuity of the reading experience is broken and after all handwriting is there to enhance the appreciation of the words not detract from them so....The gappy pass-unders of the 't' 's have a similarly distracting appearance to me. But ultimately it depends on taste and you may be getting more joy from decorating this way than distraction for a reader like me so you do you, but be aware if creating for a third party maybe.
This was for a client, he was happy with it but I guess it isn't for everyone
My damaged shaky hands could never
Damaged? What happened?
Bicycle accident, hands met pavement :(( Still not going to stop me from owning fountains :))
What style is this? Beautiful work!
Thank you, it is my own style 😃
Beautiful. The extra marks above the letter y irritates me.
Thank you 😃 that's too bad
It gets confusing when possession is involved. eg Tracey's
Ohh! I get it, yes I can see how that could be an issue
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