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Improving Terrible Handwriting?
green pizza asks: "My handwriting is horrible, an irregular mix of sloppy print and cursive. I know this, and my coworkers have learned to live with it, but I didn't realize just how bad my chickenscratch was until I tried using a tablet PC. Unlike a Palm which forced me to learn its input method, a tablet PC (and other humans) expect me to write a certain way. Aside from a handwriting class for professional adults on the other side of the country, I have only been able to find lessons and materials for the young, illiterate, or mentally challenged. Have any other geeks found a structured way to improve their handwriting?"
LPR(NT "Frist Post!"
Slow down. That's all. Just slow down and make your letters look extremely clear. Take great pride in your handwriting, and learn to appreciate it (once you develop it more).
That's how I improved mine.
Just write a lot more, and write stuff where you can pay more attention to the form of your letters than actual content. Don't mess around with cursive, just print and blend your letters as appropriate.
Spend half an hour a day (before you go to bed is good - it'll help you fall asleep, if you have trouble with that) transcribing the dictionary or something. I noticed an improvement in my writing after about two weeks.
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I find this whole idea stupid: learn to write better, so the computer can understand my handwriting. In my book, when computer cannot understand my writing, it's something wrong with the computer (or the software in this case), not with me.
That's the main reason I use my Palm less and less these days. Keyboard works ok for me and if some computer doesn't let me use this input method it is inherently broken, period.
Robert
Bastard Operator From 193.219.28.162
Here's some ideas, no one thing is sure to help.
Try different pens. Too skinny, too thick, different tips, metal, plastic...
There are hundreds of different pens at OfficeMax/Staples. Some of them are pricey though. Raid the supply closet at work, it's cheaper. I like the gels and roller balls. Spring-loaded ball-points give me the worst results. Pilot G2, Sarasa, and Uniball are my choices.
SLOW DOWN. Write slowly. It helps a ton.
Write bigger. It's a little easier to make out writing if you don't need a magnifying glass to read it.
Practice makes perfect! Get some lined paper out, and write out your alphabets. Remember in school, you'd have to make a whole page of each letter, and you got graded on penmanship? Write slow, you can learn to speed up later, once your form is better.
WRITE IN ALL CAPS. Working for a construction/design firm, it's a given, but I've found my writing to be much better if I write in all caps.
Be consistant. Make each of your characters the same way, every time.
My handwriting is pretty horrible too. Since I finished university recently and started working, my handwriting has gone progressively worse. But I don't have to worry about it because the reasons my handwriting has got so bad, namely the use of technology, is also helping me to avoid writing! Why write? Apart from some rare instances, there is hardly ever a need to use a pen or a pencil. At least this is true for me.
The tablet has the writing interface for those paper dependent people who have a tough time dealing with a keyboard. It doesn't sound like something that is right for you. (I assume that your handwriting is bad because of the overuse of keyboards.)
Basically what I want to say is that maybe the reason us geeks have such bad handwriting is because the technology has shown us new and better methods of writing. It can be seen as evolution towards a better form of written communication (and this one has a backspace key!). So instead of worrying about something that you are automatically rejecting (the handwriting), embrace the typing and work on improving upon the new methods of written communication.
my cat's breath smells like cat food
...and learn to slow your handwriting down.
Calligraphy can be tremendously rewarding. Usually simple letters of the alphabet aren't considered works of art, but write them in calligraphy and suddenly everyone wants to hang the quips and quotes you scribble, all over their homes!
This will teach you the practice and patience and dexterity you need to improve your normal handwriting also.
It's not hard, it just takes endless practice.
And, even though some of those books are for children, they do have the outlined strokes you need to cleanly (and slowly) learn the forms.
I'd like to echo many of the things said before with a couple tweaks of my own:
Pens: I find that I usually write more messy with a pen than a pencil for some silly reason, so maybe you could see how your mileage varies there. Other than that, be sure to find a pen(cil) that fits your style, be it thick or thin. A comfortable utensil will help you write more legibly as well.
I would recommend getting a journal to write in. That way you are able to spend at least a few minutes every night sorting out your thoughts, and there is obviously little pressure to hurry through it. Take time to write carefully and make your letters as consistent as possible and I think you will be surprised at the results.
Really the only way to improve is like most tasks: You are just going to have to practice. Maybe a journal won't work for you and you need to find something else, but consistent practice is what is going to make the difference at the end of the day.
While it is true that the medical profession does have the shittiest handwriting there are actually several reasons for it. :).
Number one is the curse of familiarity (maybe that should read cursive familiarity ?
E.g. Take a look at your own signature. It looks like crap because you've written it a bazillion times and it's "good enough".
Same thing happens when a doc writes the same dozen or so prescriptions day in and day out for years on end.
The other major factor is that doctors are busy! Prescriptions are often written while standing, walking, or at some strange angle on the nearest convenient surface.
But yeah, it would be nice if docs had forearm keyboards with wireless links or something...