My handwriting sucks

[meridannight]

I was left in detention for my handwriting in the 2nd or 3rd grade. It was that bad (at least that's what my grade teacher thought, not me). The rest of my teachers seemed to be able to read it.

To this day my handwriting is complex, for lack of a better word. I can't read some of my words myself if over 2 years has passed from writing the text (after 2 years I no longer remember what I wrote specifically, and that makes it more difficult to read generic words). But it's actually beautiful and very characteristic, so I don't intend to change it.

But it's not that difficult to write in a more clear way. Forget about linking the letters. Don't link them. Just write them the same way they are typed (except 'a', for example, which is more complex in typing than it is in handwritten text). That makes up a pretty clear way to write text. Do it patiently and more slowly till you get better. Patience is the key here. The more you rush, the less clear it will be usually.

I don't believe that anybody is incapable of writing clear handwritten text if they are patient enough and don't psychologically give up in advance (which you seem to be doing). There's no secret trick to it. Just write as simple forms as there are (thus, set the typewritten text as an example to emulate). Keep spaces between letters, and do it patiently. That's it.

[Cuddly]

[MENTION=22879]kindy64[/MENTION]
Cursive sounds nice. And I think it's supposed to look nice too, so I'm aiming for that.

[MENTION=24231]Sherman8D[/MENTION]
I just made my own paper booklet with greytoned letters to trace. I'm going to make it part of my morning routine.. I think.
In first grade, or whenever it was, our teacher had us trace letters and I loathed it. I am fairly sure the reason my handwriting skills are so bad is because I skipped my homework and switched to typing very early.
My aim in shooters is horrible too, but I'm pretty good at drawing and modelling in clay. So I am not quite sure about the muscle brain idea.

[MENTION=18997]matty7[/MENTION]
I'm comparing myself to my studymates, who need to be able to read what I write in our lab journals etc. They can, but I want it to be prettier. Basically they laugh at my writing and as much as I don't care, I do care.. It's something I'm insecure about and I would like to fix it.
I believe my siblings write as horribly as I do. Though all of us switched to typing really early on and I don't remember their handwriting.

[MENTION=23058]IanSaysHi[/MENTION]
I've tried the patient route, but it really doesn't work. If I don't do the curvy-wavy lines in one quick motion it will turn wobbly. It's as if the more I think about it and concentrate on doing it right, the worse it gets?!
I'll keep trying and see what happens. As I wrote above, I made a booklet for myself with letters to trace. It's 48 pages long. A page for each letter, each number, all numbers, all letters and one with a full sentence repeated down the page.

[MENTION=21957]Darius[/MENTION]
Thank you, I have looked at that. It does bother me, but my happiness with my decision to fix it outweighs the shame.

[MENTION=20933]LJay[/MENTION]
Good idea, but I don't have time or energy for a tutor.

[MENTION=13244]Bookworm[/MENTION]
I am comfortable with it, yes. Writing with my left hand feels very odd. I tried it as an experiment. It wasn't as bad as I expected, but I'm pretty sure I'm right handed.

[MENTION=24214]MHJG[/MENTION] & [MENTION=21075]Borg69[/MENTION]
I will eventually want to learn calligraphy too, but for the time being I just need to improve my everyday hand writing so I can function as a person in the lab.

[MENTION=21405]meridannight[/MENTION]
I'd settle for a (beautifully) characteristic style that would be semi readable. Mine is just ugly.

[princealbertofb]

It's so frustrating. I don't know what to do. I'm so ashamed that I avoid it, if at all possible.

If something needs to be written, I'll make sure it's my husbear or lab partner or whomever I'm doing whatever with who does the writing. My handwriting is disgustingly bad.

I cannot stand it. I want to fix it. So I went to youtube and sought out some guides, tips and tricks.

One video with a sweet old lady told me to start by writing zig-zags. Vertical line, diagonal line to next letter, vertical line, diagonal line repeat.
I can't even do that. They get uneven immediately. They either go sloped, to uneven heights or the spacing changes.

When I do write my bottom line is wobbly, my letters are all over the place and I make numerous mistakes that I then correct and make it even worse, visually.
For the sake of it, I took a paper and wrote "my handwriting is disgusting, with no mistakes, save the mt. Everest bottom line and the changing size of the letters.
I continued to write "Help! me please", which already included a mistake. I wrote "pla" so I fixed the a by writing and e on top of it and now the page is a mess.

I don't want to have a bad handwriting anymore... I wish I could go back to 2nd grade and improve.
Any tips?

In a perfect world of infinite time I'd take a long writing course, I guess, but my time is already consumed by my studies and the few hobbies that survived the culling.

It may be due to some particular wiring of your brain, actually. I'm not sure going back to 2nd grade would help. You may be badly coordinated, and some people are, which is a bit of a handicap for many physical skills, writing being one of them. You could try to find another way of forming your letters, but it may also take you more time to draw those signs. Is it really that important, and are you ready to dedicate that much time to improving that skill? Part of writing well is linked to relaxation and giving scope to your gestures. If you are nervously contracted, the writing will often feel (and look) quite cramped. Maybe learning to breathe deeply can help you make more regular moves with your hand. I'd also suggest finding a nice pen that does it for you. Depending on what you're holding in your hand, you can write quite differently.

[princealbertofb]

I found, as kindy said, all about practice. My handwriting growing up was a nasty hasty scribble. Everything changed when I was a waiter when I was 18 and found out they paid someone £20 to write the menu chalkboards. I decided that £20 was mine. I literally spent time slowly DRAWING each letter, with fluid curves and swirls. Trust me I wobbled all over the place and until you do it a number of times and build up the recognition/repetition it's not perfect but luckily I was working with chalk so if I made a mistake I rubbed it out and did it again. What I soon found was writing prettily for the menu boards started to merge into my handwriting and it's stuck ever since; people compliment me on it when they see it (unless I'm in a rush, in which case it becomes scrawly again). Even if practicing writing letters is boring, maybe also try drawing, doodling or even those adult colouring books just to get your hand/mind practicing being more precise and fluid.

True. I found that learning to write Chinese characters was a lovely way to practise writing, it's so much like drawing. So calligraphy is a great idea, and also there's the 'practice makes perfect' line that also seems to be true. I find the less young people write by hand these days, the worse their handwriting is to read and decypher. I wish they would spend more time writing to give their messages more value and importance.

[LONDONER]

I put my absolutely atrocious handwriting down to the fact that I started to use a typewriter at about the age of 14 and in spite of all these years I still only use two fingers. When I have to hand write I usually print so I can understand myself. I'm ashamed! At least I don't write in textspeak.

[princealbertofb]

who are you comparing against ? my handwriting is horrible too but i made my piece with that a long time ago - despite the jokes when i send a greetings or birthday card ..turns out my nephew and i write exactly the same - is it hereditary ??? do any of your relatives write similar to you ?

I don't know if any of this is hereditary. I'm going to say that maybe some of the brain wiring is, but I can't think of two more different handwritings than my parents'... There is also a cultural aspect to handwriting. Different cultures using the same letters write very differently. In Britain the writing is often much rounder, ampler, in France it tends to be tighter and scrawnier... I think my handwriting is quite distinct from both my mother's and my father's. And even my brothers have their own idiosyncratic way of forming letters.

[drobs]

I think you need counseling... just kidding.

I have horrible handwriting and I'm left handed so everything smears. I mostly print everything but have a doctor's signature.

[TwisttheLeaf]

Unless this issue is caused by a medical condition (lack of motor control, eye-to-hand coordination issues, muscle deterioration or spasms, etc) this should be something that with some time, and diligent practice, you should be able to fix. I personally have three handwriting styles, the latter two developed in an effort to make my writing more legible. It might take some time to find what methods work best for you, but at the end of the day, writing style is created by muscle memory and, for most people, that type of training takes time to "stick" and become permanent.

[ShiftyNJ]

Mine isn't great but I've found that I hardly hand-write anything anyway. Weeks go by without ever doing so.