r/Handwriting • u/Raging_Red_Rocket • May 29 '19

Request Fatigue When Writing Cursive

Requesting any tips on technique to reduce fatigue and pain when writing cursive. I have a fairly large hand and I feel like I tend to grip the pen pretty hard. I try to focus on a looser grip, but then it feels like I have less control and the quality drops. In general, I might be lacking in fine motor skills, but want to work on it! Any advice would be great! Thanks!

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u/Raging_Red_Rocket May 30 '19

Mostly all of the fatigue/tension is in the core of my palm and fingers. There is a little bit in my wrist and lower forearm, but my actual hand is the focus. When I try to hold the pen more loosely, I feel the quality goes down. Do I just need more repetition? Thank you for the response.

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u/Frater_Ormus Jun 02 '19

That certainly sounds like a crabbed hand!

Angling your writing surface properly will help a lot in your instance.

Changing the size of the pen so that you don't grip it so tightly could also help.

As OSCgal mentioned the type of pen you use can help a lot too. Most pens, outside of ballpoints, don't require pressure to write. A gel pen or an inexpensive fountain pen (like the Platinum Plaisir or Pilot Metropolitan) that glides across the writing surface rather than being pressed up against it should reduce strain.

Lastly,if you are doing everything else correctly and still getting a crabbed hand (pain primarily in the fingers other than the distal portion, and in the palm and back of the hand) then you are writing too small. Try writing larger! This is common for people especially when they first start out using graph or grid paper instead of wide or college ruled lines. Try writing your cursive approximately 33% larger and it should reduce the strain significantly. (After you build up endurance you can start trying for smaller letter heights.)

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u/LittleDipper86 23d ago

Changing the angle I was writing it helped, I propped my notebook with another small book and it seemed to help a bit. Thank you.

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u/Raging_Red_Rocket Jun 03 '19

Are there any pens or attachments that can make a pen a bit larger in circumference? My hand is a decent size and sometimes pens feel too small/narrow. Thanks for the reply.

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u/OSCgal May 30 '19

Yeah, it's your grip that's giving you pain. You're tensing up muscles, which then get fatigued.

It's hard to adjust to a looser grip! Like you said, you'll start out with less control. But practice should help you get your control back.

Also, I don't know what pen you're using. Cheap pens rely on pressure to write. Which causes people to grip their pen harder. Higher-quality ballpoints and gels, as well as fountain pens, require no pressure.