I never learned to write!

July 8, 2012 6:26 PM

How can I learn painless penmanship?

My handwriting is atrocious and has gotten worse over the years. Part of this is probably due to the fact that I do most of my writing on a computer, but I've also kept a journal on and off and many of the entries are nearly illegible, even to me.

I think the primary blame is that writing is physically painful. The writer's bump near the top knuckle on my middle finger get quite sore after just a few sentences.

Looking at online images/videos of the proper way to hold a pen(cil) look more or less the same as I hold one. For example I can't see much difference between my grip and the one in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIVpuBNJgsg

Any suggestions on what I'm doing wrong or could try?

posted by justkevin to Media & Arts (15 answers total)

Are you sure you aren't holding the pencil in a "death grip" when you write? When I write I tend to hold my writing implement so tightly that my knuckles turn white, which makes my whole hand sore after a few minutes. Try loosening up your grip a bit and try not to press down on the paper too hard.
posted by littlesq at 6:40 PM on July 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Mainly, it takes a lot of repetition, but I think some pencil grips might be a big help for you. In my penmanship learning days, they were usually triangular, but now the ones in common use look more like this. Also, unless cursive is a necessity, you may want to look into architectural/theater arts lettering. I don't know that web page is the best for that (I've seen better examples), but basic block lettering used in architectural plans & scenic design is intended to be simple and readable to pretty much everyone. By the way, I've noticed my handwriting deteriorating over the years in this digital world, so you are not the only one with this issue. It doesn't solve your quandry, but might make you feel a bit better about it.
posted by katemcd at 6:42 PM on July 8, 2012

The quality of your writing implement may have something to do with this - both by how it fits in your hand and how hard you have to press in order to get the ink/lead onto the paper. Try experimenting with different pens and pencils. I recently purchased the Papermate InkJoy pens and they do write very smoothly - no extra pressure needed.

I also think a lot of it just has to do with how often you write. I used to write several pages a day in my journal, but now get hand cramps when I try to write a lot. As you write more frequently, the pain in your middle finger should subside. If a pencil grip doesn't work for you, try buying a super plush bandaid to put over your writers bump to give it a little extra cushion.
posted by youngergirl44 at 6:48 PM on July 8, 2012

Yeah, reconsidering your writing utensil will probably help a lot. Once I started writing with a fountain pen, I was suddenly able to write much, much longer without those hand cramps. Nice ballpoint pens (the ones where it's worth it to buy the replacement cartridges instead of buying new pens) are also useful.
posted by naturalog at 7:00 PM on July 8, 2012

In addition to holding too hard, my terrible handwriting is exacerbated by speed, be prepared to slow down if you want to write neatly.
posted by smoke at 7:03 PM on July 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have probably the worst death pencil grip you can possibly adopt, but I managed to drastically improve my penmanship by dropping the traditional form of cursive taught in the US in favor of the Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting system. It's based on traditional italic penmanship, and has simple print letterforms. The cursive form completely eliminates the crazy looped ascenders/descenders and odd letterforms typical of D'Nealian cursive, but the letters are still connected enough to make cursive the faster form to write.

I tried really, really hard to change my grip, but I just couldn't. The best I could do was try to relax it a little so that I'm not white-knuckling my handwriting.
posted by xyzzy at 7:25 PM on July 8, 2012

Do you write cursive or print? I've adopted a loose combination which works better because I can write larger than if I try to write in cursive, and more flowing than if I try to write in print. Writing with a smoother flow helps. When I write in cursive, the smaller motions cramp my hand. I've found that when I'm writing for longer periods of time, if I write with a more relaxed grip it's easier on my hand. Writing larger, rounder letters allows me to have a looser grip while still writing legibly.
posted by DoubleLune at 8:03 PM on July 8, 2012

Spend $3 on a Pilot Varsity fountain pen and browse through the Fountainpennetwork.
posted by Napoleonic Terrier at 8:22 PM on July 8, 2012

Seconding italic. Nthing "get a better writing instrument". It is also possible to get little cushion grips to go over any writing instrument. My oldest also benefitted from vitamin therapy. My ex bought very fine point pens to help make his small writing more legible.
posted by Michele in California at 9:38 PM on July 8, 2012

Rather than using the fingers or wrists to manipulate the writing utensil to make shapes I have most of my movement coming from my shoulder. Because the shoulder is doing most of the work my fingers can relax and the pen just gently rests there.
It took a while for my shoulder to learn how to write (especially at smaller sizes) but I feel like it made my writing so much more consistent and effortless.
posted by simplethings at 10:26 PM on July 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Internet Archive has copious quantities of books about penmanship which are in the public domain or otherwise free to read in their entirety. Google Books has even more.
posted by XMLicious at 11:43 PM on July 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

take a (non-computer aided) drafting or mechanical drawing course of some kind. it might sound weird, but extensive time spent drawing lines with a ruler will likely alter your grip and pressure on the paper, which will have a huge effect on both hand comfort and lettering appearance. Plus it will train your eye and hand to coordinate spacing and forming a consistent 'line' and block with your text when you write on unlined paper.

personal experience: A few years ago, I spent a few months doing a course on pattern making, like for making clothes, where the patterns were all hand drawn and part of the process is marking each piece with a set of notation to be read by others. Ever since then my penmanship has become this magical, architectural thing that looks like it was laid down by a machine. I can keep lines straight without lines and all my letters remain the same size, and tiny. I get comments on it all the time when I leave notes at work.

Oh also: I used to be hung up on using pens only, or old-school wooden pencils. The teacher insisted we use only mechanical pencils; I hated the plastic ones at school, and ended up with an assortment of metal ones with an integrated grip. My callus had been previously gnarly from doing a lot of non-technical drawing, but it wasn't really shaped for writing or something. The metal pencils had metal grips that 'roughed up' the callus more and made it way tougher. My favorites are Alvin drafting pencils. They have a really satisfying heft that helps me slow down when I write, which also helps.
posted by par court at 12:27 AM on July 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Getting a fountain pen helped me get over the hand cramps I would receive from writing more than a page or two (I push REALLY hard, and with a fountain pen, you learn quickly that is a very expensive mistake).

It never improved the quality of my penmanship, though. Since I could read what I wrote, I really don't care. I can use a typewriter for "handwritten" forms, if needed. :)
posted by shepd at 12:14 PM on July 9, 2012

There's a book called Draw Your World that you might find useful. The linked page discusses different grips.
posted by chickenmagazine at 2:34 PM on July 9, 2012

My first guess is the death grip too.

You should be holding your writing instrument tightly enough to guide it and put pressure on it. Could someone lean over your shoulder and pluck your pen/pencil from your hand? If not, you're holding it too tight.
posted by egypturnash at 8:29 PM on July 9, 2012