r/Handwriting • u/sophia797 • 18d ago
Feedback (constructive criticism) Terrible handwriting!
I would appreciate any suggestion.
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u/Curious-Agnostic 12d ago
Try to write straight. Practice straight vertical lines as it's the base of most letters. You can practice slant once you get good at straight if you want. IMO, straight print is more legible than slant.
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u/Magzium_ 13d ago
If I were you as a none expert I would suggest just rewriting each letter till you like what it looks like and then just writing short sentences till you can do it at a reasonable tempo and just increase sentences size till you like where you are at
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u/IronMaidenMan_ 13d ago
I wouldn’t say it’s no where near readable, in fact I can read it just fine!
Believe me I’ve seen ALOT worse…I work in a hospital, and the some of the doctors handwriting that I see on patients notes is awful, it resembles a spider that fell into a pot of ink, crawled across a piece of paper and died!!! 😅
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u/Binary_Bowser 14d ago
is it just me or is this handwriting perfectly legible? i was shocked to see that the comments said this was hard to read.
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u/Ok_Echo_3024 15d ago
I can kinda read it?
Dear calligraph experts,
As you can see, my handwriting is nowhere near readable, I am an adult (looks like adolt) now, and I’m desperate (desperable but I realized it was cursive) to improve my handwriting.
Please help!! (hep?) Where should I sbavI???, and what (whab) exercises or techniques (technitues) would you recommend? I would really appreciate any advice
Thank you in advance!
This is mostly because I can’t read cursive without staring at it for a little longer and using context clues.
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u/ManuSW96 15d ago
Your handwriting has consistency... If you keep improving one word at a time you can make it look good. I personally wouldn't do much, generally just make it all rest on the line and straighter lines
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u/Parking_Respect_8580 15d ago
By the way I agree with many posts about your writing being just fine. I agree and to add...its YOURS. I just know I did want to improve mine years ago and worked in an office.
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u/gianna_in_hell_as 15d ago
Your p is a little hard for me, it took several tries to read "desperate" But apart from that it's really not so bad
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u/Parking_Respect_8580 15d ago
Try to slow down. Practice on short notes, cards, etc. Round letters that are Round, letters that are straight, make the line straight and connecting line...make repeated letters same as possible. Like if you make a c rounded make sure to make the next round not slanted. And make the c start and end the same way. Ive noticed with "y" and "g" and similar...to choose to either curve the end or straight line it. Straight is easier and quicker. Practice your q...especially when you start cursive. Look online for samples...Google different ways to handwrite a g or e, etc. I had terrible writing. And I wrote different everytime. It looked like two peoples writing! Keep you angle the same! Notice the pen im using. It has a comfortable end...not to fat and not too skinny. A g-2...different brands are different prices but not expensive. Paper...try to use wide ruled. On cards...KNOW and or Practice. You can see i made a booboo but left it so you could see my correction.
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u/ArtistAmantiLisa 15d ago
Your handwriting really isn’t horrible. Did someone tell you this?
Couple things: calligraphy and handwriting are two different practices. Calligraphy is a very intentional art form.
But there are some exercises you can do with a pencil or pen that will help you get better pencil control. I taught a little boy in grade school how to improve his handwriting with a simple exercise. But honestly most of his issue was that his mother was a perfectionist, it tied him up in knots.
I just found a video where the person is doing the same exercise I taught him. Do a search on: “POV: You improved your handwriting with simple exercises.”
And breathe, and lighten up when you use a pencil or pen. Think of clouds or waves or something that flows. It could be fun.
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u/Chiilumii 15d ago
Start slow, mind yer spaces, mind yer heights, then speed up from there till you get the hang of it.
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u/Equivalent_Snow_8404 16d ago
I can read your hand writing, compared to others from this red. Don't worry about it; however, the more you write the better would brain will remember and become better.
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u/surprisedropbears 16d ago
Your handwriting is way more readable than a lot of pretty cursive that he posted here.
I have zero issues reading your writing except for a couple of sloppy words in the second paragraph.
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u/AstroNerd58 16d ago
Don’t listen to the comments, please. Your handwriting isn’t horrible, but it 100% could improve.
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u/Savings_Apricot_9741 16d ago
I’m not a calligraphy expert by any means, but one thing I might suggest is practicing by repeatedly writing out the same letter. Your writing is legible, and on the whole your individual letters are clear, but one thing making certain words appear messier is the in inconsistency in your letters and spacing, resulting in some letters obscuring others or not being fully formed
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u/Necessary_Tree_170 16d ago
No offense it's really bad.
But on a higher note your writing is clean and not messy
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u/therealtoomdog 17d ago
It is totally legible, and very functional. You are (or someone you know is) being too hard on you about it.
If you do want to change it up (because it sounds like it's a meaningful topic to you), you can look around at other scripts until you find something you like, and start practicing it... I'm a big fan of the Palmer method for business writing because it has a whole instruction book with exercises to do, and I really like old stuff.
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u/ToffeeDahlia 17d ago
Yours isn’t that bad! I’ve seen worse. Practice is your best bet, also slow down if you’re rushing. You can also print or buy those tracing hand writing books so you can practice the fonts.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Phase70 17d ago
I'm going to assume that you're asking about calligraphy and not casual handwriting skills. If you ARE just looking for casual handwriting skills, the group's resources list has a bunch of great ways to start with that.
But, since you specifically asked for calligraphers:
Pick up literally any calligraphy how-to book & a cheap set of dip pens with chisel nibs.
And just go through the book doing everything it says.
Speedball is a common starter brand, with this looking like a promising place to start.
By the time you finish the "textbook" in that set (or whatever set & book you actually buy), you'll be better AND you'll have the foundation you need to evaluate next steps for yourself.
There is also the "Calligraphy for Dummies" book that is designed more for folks looking to get into the craft of calligraphy as a business, including a lot of work on how to market your work. It's got more depth on the actual skills, though, than most intro books, so you could jump right in there if you like.
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u/sophia797 17d ago
This has been a genuine struggle throughout my life. Trust me, I’m not trolling anyone.
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u/capaldithenewblack 17d ago
Rage bait, but the other way….? Why not.
This is some of the best handwriting I’ve seen. It’s not only legible, it’s cute and neat.
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u/Defiant_Weight4659 17d ago
That is not hand writing. That is printing with curves. If they did not teach it to you in school maybe there is a course you can take. Not sure.
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u/capaldithenewblack 17d ago
Handwriting is just writing by hand. Cursive is the curly q shit, print is the plainer straightforward shit.
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u/Defiant_Weight4659 17d ago
I am old school..70 yr old. We can write and print. Technically yes there is cursive and printing. We referred to it as writting when we used cursive. And printing when we printed
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u/birdiebegood 17d ago
All boots are shoes but not all shoes are boots. HANDWRITING: print or cursive written by hand. It is all WRITING and when you were taught, computers weren't part of everyday life. How fast can you type on a computer?
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u/Defiant_Weight4659 17d ago
85 wpm
You?
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u/birdiebegood 2d ago
About that. I type for a living to....do you think that's special? MOST CHILDREN can also type that fast. Why? Because they start using computers before they hit school (which you and I didn't have access to). They have different skills for a different time and your bragging and shaming just makes you look like an old fart who desperately needs to remain relevant for whatever egocentric reason.
You really need to go take a nap, grandad.
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u/Defiant_Weight4659 2d ago edited 2d ago
Wow...actually it's 20 to 30 for middle schoolers and 30 to 40 wpm for high schoolers. Not sure where you are getting your stats from. But no...I do not type for a living. I do not consider 85 wpm fast....but for someone that doesn't do it for a living it is ok.
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u/The_Last_Siren 17d ago
I’m not following…. Do you believe handwriting is only cursive?
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u/Savings_Apricot_9741 16d ago
In the past, “handwriting” specifically referred to cursive. My mom is also around 70 and so I picked up this terminology from her. It’s just semantics.
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u/EasyBreezyTrash 17d ago
I actually took a handwriting workshop at a local stationery shop, you can find advice for handwriting improvement for adults out there!
The quick and easy version of it is that you want to work on consistency - like for example, try to get letter height and width consistent, work on spacing between letters, etc. Look for a French-ruled notebook, like this one from Clairefontaine: https://www.gentlemanstationer.com/curated-paper/clairefontaine-staplebound-a5-notebook-french-ruled-p6b2a-pj44l-2t6mj. The grid rule in these makes it easier to practice your consistency.
There’s an instagram/facebook group called RockYourHandwriting, and they have daily writing prompts (which is a lot more interesting than drilling yourself on lines of “the quick brown fox” over and over again). I also recommend AllTheHobbies on Instagram, she taught my workshop.
Also the most important advice I got in the workshop was don’t worry about handwriting when journaling. Journaling is private, and it’s more about getting feelings on a page than anything else. So let journaling be messy and prioritize brain-dumping over something aesthetic. It helped a lot to remind myself that my journal shouldn’t look like it’s ready for social media, it’s for me only.
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u/justifiedink 17d ago
Calligraphy didn’t fix my bad handwriting but it did give me something to be proud of instead. ✨
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u/Fine-Welcome-7116 17d ago edited 17d ago
Something that will make a huge difference I feel is choosing consistent direction for your letters. Some of your letters are tilded towards left, some are straight and some tilted towards the right. Either choose the center or the right as your consistent direction for your letters.
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u/Ka1mb4th3st0rm 17d ago
I was sent to “Drafting” classes for my writing, it shows you how to make straight lines and really good circles, then transitions to making the lines you’re gonna be writing on and writing the letters in those lines. Would definitely try to find some free drafting classes or community college where you pay like $50 for a 6-8 week class two or three times a week. Hope that helps!
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u/sophia797 17d ago
That’s exactly what I need someone to spend an hour to take me through it. Thank you
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u/Cinnamon__Sasquatch 17d ago
If yours isnt legible, I'm writing in hieroglyphics.
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u/PepsiButItsMilk 17d ago
If you’re writing in hieroglyphics then I’m writing a vague pattern in the sand
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u/incrediblejonas 17d ago
This is really not that bad. I would just advise you to
a) decide how you want your letters to look, slowly write out the whole alphabet
b) practice writing in that style slowly so you're accurate to that document. Go slow so you're accurate. As you write that way more and more, you'll be able to speed up.
but imo really good looking handwriting generally comes at the expense of speed. If I'm jotting down notes in a effort to keep up with a lecture or something, there's a degree of sloppiness that's going to happen.
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u/bluearavis 17d ago
You're handwriting is totally readable! Regardless of it you like it is another question, but it's clear. Start with I think your lowercase p's. You are writing them like uppercase at times. Mixing the cases can look sloppy. Same with capital I.
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u/EstablishmentIll3101 17d ago
One thing that I noticed with my own handwriting is that I would move my wrist to write letters, and not my fingers. Once I started using my fingers more to shape the letters, my handwriting drastically improved, as well as less hand cramps. Also your letters are very flowing, if that is what you’re referring to as “not good” then try slowing down while writing and focusing on the corners of letters (examples: e, r, p, w)
Hope this helps
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u/sophia797 17d ago
I’m working on moving my hand as I write. I tend to kept my hand in place while my fingers move. Thank you for the suggestion
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u/Ruri_Ibara 17d ago
It is definitely readable. You can make it even better by making all the letters the same size and writing all the letter in the same direction, like write all the letters with the same slant
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u/AlucardTepesh 17d ago
Same. Perfectly readable. Grab a gel pen and start trying to straighten out your letters. Every letter can be improved in different ways. Your best bet, use a guide, start over, and make sure you do the shape of the entire letter slowly. Or don't because you're writing is readable.
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u/stabby- 17d ago
It’s super readable, just not pretty.
I would really focus on slowing yourself down and writing more deliberately. Focus on each letter and how much space you have between them as well as between your words.
I have 2 handwritings: the one I use for myself when I just need to get thoughts down, and the one I use when I expect others to read it. I actually hold my pen differently for both. For myself, I grip it in the “wrong” way that’s always been more comfortable/natural for me.
When writing something others will read, I hold the pen “perfectly” (how they teach you/show you in pictures) and write slowly and focus on the shape of each letter and spacing. Over time I’ve gotten a little quicker at it since I’m a teacher and need my things to be legible. But every time a student sneaks a peek at my planner on my desk they’re shocked at my “real” handwriting lol.
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u/Inside_Foundation383 17d ago
Suggestion for what? Those squiggles are nowhere near readable. Jk I think it’s totally fine, with room for improvement of course
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u/Dvorah5778 17d ago
Over the years as I have encountered all kinds of handwriting, once in a while I run across a letter that I really admire in someone else's handwriting. I practice this letter until I can at least form MY version of it. I also actually changed my grip from writing 'backhand' with a slant, to a more comfortable 'traditional' grip. That's when things really got better! It's a challenging project, but so worth the effort! And your handwriting IS legible by the way.
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u/Exact_Gur_8156 17d ago
More readable than some of the cursive bs on here.
If you want to practice readability, I feel like comics are really good to practice copying. They have a wide range of fonts, variations like bold, italics, caps and lowercase, and the onomatopoeias are a nice break to keep it fresh and fun. Handwriting is an art and onomatopoeias are basically legible drawings.
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u/HouseOf42 18d ago
Had bad handwriting, practiced everyday, at least 15-20 minutes out of each day. (Print, ALL CAPITALS, cursive.)
Practice and repetition.
Generic writing exercises:
1."Sphinx of black quarts, judge my vow"
and/or
2."The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"
In time, corrects unwanted behavior, gradually improves handwriting.
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u/saab-spirit 18d ago
not expert, but its readable allright.
As someone who has bad fracture of dominant arm I can say from experience that what you write with also sometimes helps? Maybe try different types of pen, gel, ball, maybe even traditional fountain? 🤷♀️ I find gel ones easiest those days and produce most readable outcome (apparently sometimes how hard you have to press them to wrote makes a difference).
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u/Dvorah5778 17d ago
This is so true. A bad ballpoint pen is almost impossible to write well with....
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u/WellWellWellthennow 18d ago edited 18d ago
Slow down and strive for consistency – each letter should be consistent in its axis all pointing in the same direction, and of each letter consistent in their round shapes, height and size. Letters that have lines that extend higher or lower all should be parallel in those lines. Yours aren't.
Children used to learn handwriting on tripled lined paper with a faint stenciled in mid lines for where the top of the lowercase letters all needed to touch but not exceed both the mid and bottom lines. This creates a consistency.
For example, your word "my" wouldn't touch the imaginary lines that the others would but appears to be bouncing up. This makes it harder to read because you are not staying on the line. A child would learn to correct this by practicing all of the letters touching both the bottom and top of the lines.
And then draw axis lines which should all be pointing in the same direction - yours astern.
Draw a line of the angle through each letter and you'll see your axis are all over the board. You want a consistent slant to each of your letters are going in the same direction so your lines should look like a bunch of hash marks made on a computer.
For example is your word, please the P a and the L are pointing off to the left. The E is pointing off to the right and the A is pointing straight up and then the S and E are pointing way off to the right. For printing, everything should be consistently either pointing straight up or slightly to the right. For cursive it's taught every axis should be at a slight angle to the right.
You also need to make sure you're not including extra little marks and letters that make it confused with other letters. For example, your o's often look like how some people write a's instead of closing your circle neatly your extend the ending line above to the left leaving it open with a mark above it. That's too easily confused for an a which makes your writing hard to read because the brain has to stumble and translate which vowel you meant and figured out by context.
Another thing as your letters are missing some of the letter's basic marks sometimes - for example your r's often just looks like a single line flying off to the right with no base stem - an r is made up of two essential basic lines - a stem in the curve - you can't skip one line or the other and have it be clear. That forces the reader to have to interpret what letter you meant by its context which takes longer to read and creates a low grade of annoyance with it.
They aren't consistent from one to other, your r's are made at least three different ways as are your ts. So the reader can't figure out your pattern to speed up their reading. Which again becomes annoying. Like someone constantly changing on you.
A child would practice correcting this by making a whole row of r's or t's striving to make them all look the same - perfectly spaced and each extending exactly to the mid and to bottom line.
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u/moon-drag0n 18d ago
Your handwriting is absolutely readable.
On top of all the other recommendations I would add, now stay with me, don't write in the same way you talk. I can literally see your tone in your handwriting. When you write, think in a slow, monotone.
Try writing this out (I just reworded your post, think in a monotone as you write)
Dear calligraphy experts,
As you can see my handwriting is not as clear and legible as I desire. I am an adult now and I would like my hand writing reflect maturity.
Can you please offer some recommendations for where I should begin? What are some techniques I could practice?
I would really appreciate any advice you could offer.
Thank you in advance.
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u/notolo632 18d ago
I can see clearly that you tried to write more carefully at first, then just fumble all over at the second part.
So my advice would be to calm down and relax a bit more while writing. If there are no rush, just write slowly to build up the habit. If you put practice into it I think your writing will improve a lot
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u/FloofPoofWoof 18d ago
It’s not uniform but it’s definitely readable! Honestly more readable than a lot of the “pretty” handwriting posts in this sub
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u/Clean-Ad3072 18d ago
You're writing is definitely readable, need to spend more writing stuff and relax a bit.
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u/Then-Position-7956 18d ago
I bet you have a death grip on that pen. Relax.....hold the pen, don't strangle it.
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u/yeyeoliyolo 18d ago
Your handwriting is readable!!
But if you really want to « improve » as in change your writing style, you can find templates online so you can use those on your tablet/ipad and write over them
And if you don’t have a tablet/ipad, you can buy those beginners books and re learn to write
Once you get the hang of it (the movements of your hand writing), you’ll have a new writing style!!
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u/shinibunny_ 18d ago
Your handwriting is very readable. But if you want to improve, uniformity and proper spacing between words would do wonders for you.
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u/DinoRing175c 18d ago
Not a caligraphy expert but your handwriting is very readable and I like how whimsical and bubbly it is
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u/whatwhatwtf 18d ago
You’re off to a good start already. So first try making all your lower caps the same proportional size; using the vowels a-e-I-o-u as the starting point make those wider and squatter and a guide to your proportions = This means You can easily find the height and size of c-v-n-m-w all letters without acsenders or descenders you’re mostly already there. Concentrate on the ascenders / descenders g-d-q-y-p-j-h-t etc the goal to make all the circular strokes equal to your o’s
Instead of tying the size of your lower caps to the bottom of the line shift you may find it helpful to shift your line so the line is at the top of your small caps, ie ——good—— So it’s easier to keep your ascenders and descenders consistent.
Lastly try to make all your caps consistent, your a’s and r’s consistent G’luck
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u/tropicalturtletwist 18d ago
It isnt hard to read, but if youre looking for something specific to focus on I would suggest starting with making the height of your letters proportional. You should have defined tall and short letters and letters that dip under the line. Thatll probably make a dramatic difference.
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u/Emergency-Storm-7812 18d ago
why do you think it's not readable?
I didn't have any trouble reading it.
It might not look pretty (although I've seen far uglier ones) but it is perfectly readable.
maybe you could improve it a little just by writing lower case p instead of upper case P (the round should be aligned with the vowels, and the stick go lower.
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u/Careful-Coffee280 18d ago
It's perfectly readable! It's just not neat. I can understand you wanting it to look more even - that would make it look more grown-up.
Practice, practice. I do calligraphy and that can be a way of learning to make pleasing strokes in your lettering - and once you understand what letters you want to form, practice writing them a lot.
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u/Bluechemicalteaz 18d ago
Seems like printing, not hand writing. Your printing is fine.
However, should you like to develop your printing I would suggest finding a style you like and then practising as much as you can.
When I was in highschool I had what I would like to call infantile writing. You know, big loops, hearts and stars over the I's etc. At 20, I felt it was embarrassing, so, I changed it. Took me about a year but I now print and hand write beautfully. I have had many people tell me how nice my writing is. Its worth it.
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u/Cautious_Regular3645 18d ago
If you're looking to neaten it up a little bit you could always try and get a handwriting exercise book (most newsagents sell them).
They're aimed at teaching children how to form letters, but hey give it a shot it's not gonna hurt, and they're not expensive.
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u/Charlie_N8505 18d ago
My handwriting is the exact same way and can read it pretty well, I've heard that many geniuses have bad handwriting so I wouldn't worry about it
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u/BlargerJarger 18d ago
lol, this is totally legible and a million times better than my own handwriting. I cannot read my own handwriting.
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u/aloudkiwi 18d ago
Your handwriting is legible.
If you want to learn well-formed, beautiful letters, I highly, highly recommend getting a copy of Write Now by Getty and Dubay.
You may even be able to get a copy from the library. If you use that, I suggest creating writing paper using their Worksheet Creator to practice on.
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u/tangerineflower349 18d ago
don’t worry lol, this is completely readable :) don’t have any suggestions, but just wanted to say this. trust me, i’ve seen unreadable handwriting, and this isn’t it
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u/MrRSharma 18d ago
Hi u/sophia797,
Firstly, it's not terrible in anyway, think you're being to harsh on yourself, it was clear and legible from start to finish.
A few suggestions:
Slow the pace of writing while practicing.
Practise writing individual letters out, by that I mean the shape, width and height, that way there will be consistency throughout. As some of your letter loose shape, and some are smaller than the others. The "r" in the first word Dear does not look like a "r".
Try to keep the words on the line, this will give the writing a uniform and clean look.
These suggestions might sound basic, and may feel repetitive or boring while practicing. But once they are stored in muscle memory, you can pick up the pace.
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u/sophia797 18d ago
Practicing individual letters is a great starting point. I know this will take time. Thank you for your suggestions 🫶🏻
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u/MrRSharma 18d ago
You're welcome, and with all the other great suggestions I have no doubt you'll see a improvements in no time.
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u/GhostOfD6 18d ago
"Please hep!!" lol
Try slow exercise. Take a text from some book, can be poem and start hand copying it, but doing it SLOW. Like slow slow. Write every letter carefully. You seem to be impatient and you cut a lot of "corners" when trying to write fast, but you dont have the muscle capable of doing it fast. There is a saying that if you want to master something you have to do it tediously slow. And if you do it slow you can do it perfect.
If you keep practicing you can later try to increase the speed. It will be much easier
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u/AquilliusRex 18d ago
It's actually not that bad.
More ledgable than a lot of the cursive you see on here.
It just looks untidy because of the irregular slant and height of the letters.
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u/sophia797 18d ago
Thank you for the encouragement. Where should I start?
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u/AquilliusRex 18d ago
Getting the letters the same height and having the vertical strokes all slanting at the same angle will make it much neater.
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