Learning The Palmer Method Of Business Writing

[GClef]

Good choice Shig!

[sirShiggy]

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh533/sirShiggy/Palmerday3.jpg

 

Days 1 and 2 were spent practicing the tripod grip and the required arm position. I've been writing with my arm for some time now, but the palmer method wants me to sort of suspend my arm in midair while doing that, and the palmer tripod grip seems to be slightly different from the normal, so I wanted to make doubly sure I knew what I was doing. Anyway, the results are above, I think I made some improvement, but more work is still needed, those circles are tricky!

[ParkerNutter]

Your Palmer looks better than my Palmer.

 

I need to practice more.

 

I can see how it would be possible to write very quickly in cursive if you are able to master the method.

[Angry__Panda]

So I bit. This seems to be a good idea for progressing to Copperplate and then Specerian. The one thing I would love are videos of the exercises...Just to see if I am doing them right. I also question how important form is. I rarely am in a place where perfect posture, preparation and a desk are available. Because of this I am using my own preferences in terms of holding my pen and sitting. Interestingly I have always set my paper as most guides suggest. Anyways when I get some time I'll scan in my practice sheets. Thanks for the topic encouraging this!

[keepitfresh]

Count me in! Keeping up with an early typewriter? Sounds like a good goal to me

[Ink Sandwich]

I've just been to IAMPETH two days ago and downloaded the book by Mary Champion. To be honest, I find she explains Palmer better than Palmer ...

I think business writing is simply gorgeous and practical enough to use it in everyday writing. I just still have to force myself to do the whole 'muscular movement' thing, but count me in!

This is a great idea for a thread, and doing it together is much more motivating

[Pietru]

I'm in too! I participated for a while on the Copperplate thread but haven't had the time to keep up with practice, and my writing's deteriorated quite quickly. Palmer looks like it's got some of the benefits (cursive, flowing, fun to write) and could be lots more useful for daily writing. I'll attempt the first exercises soon.

[LWW]

Does this mean tat I have to clean my desk?

[Strychnine]

I'm in.

I just picked cursive writing back up a few months ago after neglecting it since the third grade, and am appalled at my scrawly, cramped hand. Despite all the hating Palmer's received on some parts of this forum, it looks to me like a very fast, practical, and elegant style, which is exactly what I'm looking for.

Thanks for pushing me into it, Internet.

[GClef]

 

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/gclef1114/photobucket-34830-1338848861500.jpg

[caliken]

I think business writing is simply gorgeous and practical enough to use it in everyday writing.

Here's my contribution to the thread.

 

Ken

 

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/caliken_2007/SpencerianBusinessWriting1.jpg

[Tujack]

I really don't know what the nuns taught us in grammar school. I do know we had penmanship classes and attention was directed to how to sit, position the paper, hold the pen and slant our letters. My handwriting is okay. It could be better, it could be worse. I got really sloppy when I was taking notes in college/grad school and that just got worse when I worked as a newspaper reporter. If I slow down and take my time, my handwriting is okay. Not spectacular by any means but legible.

I think our handwriting looks best when we express our individually. Admittedly, if someone's handwriting is really small and illegible, some practice and change may be in order, otherwise, I say "be yourself."

[hughdrbf]

I think business writing is simply gorgeous and practical enough to use it in everyday writing.

Here's my contribution to the thread.

 

Ken

 

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/caliken_2007/SpencerianBusinessWriting1.jpg

 

I learned from this. Thank you, again, Ken.

[aleksi]

I think business writing is simply gorgeous and practical enough to use it in everyday writing.

Here's my contribution to the thread.

 

Ken

 

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/caliken_2007/SpencerianBusinessWriting1.jpg

 

 

Ken. Your spencerian script is amazing. May i ask what pen did you use??

[Ink Sandwich]

Here's what I've just written:

 

http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/5351/alicel.jpg

 

That's almost like my ordinary everyday "neat" writing. All I did was trying to make it look like Palmer, but I didn't use the whole muscular movement thing (i.e. the fleshy part of my hand still touched the paper, and I probably used my fingers a bit too). Still learning to overcome that.

[Strychnine]

Can anyone clarify the second line of Drill 1 for me (the first oval exercise)?

Is it continuous motion? How are the oval and line connected? Palmermethod.com is unhelpful, and I'm worried that my intermittent drills will suffer if I'm doing it wrong.

 

Thanks.

[GClef]

 

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/gclef1114/photobucket-4667-1343864410752.jpg

[waterproof]

Thank you for starting this thread for us! :roflmho:

I've been learning Palmer for months but still can't make it looks as half the beauty as those examples in the book.

After doing countless oval and straight line drills,I learned the muscular movement and now can write rapidly.But what I consider to be the most difficult part of writing this style is to make standard letterforms.

Here is my practice for today,I hope we can keep this thread alive and make progress together.

http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/r482/waterproof101/IMG_6118_.png

[sirShiggy]

So sorry guys! You see, in that gap of time, I moved from jolly old England to the grand ole us of a! I've had no Internet for 2 months and no fountain pens either! I am pleased to say that my handwriting has improved drastically, producing a good Palmer by the end of my exams, but I've not picked up a pen in two months, and I've just got my pens back today, let me practice a bit before I have to post my progress again!

[elderberry]

I'm a bit late but still like to join! My handwriting isn't too bad but it has always been very cramped, probably because I've always liked writing on the sofa or on the carpet - no chance for anything more than finger writing there, I guess. I also tend to lean towards the paper a lot, so I badly needed something to relax my hand. Besides I like the look of the script, so...

 

Here's my first practice lesson:

 

It was really hard not to "finger write" again and to keep a constant sitting position but the circle thing really did a lot to relax my hand and I think it made a huge difference, much more so than I would have expected. Let's hope I keep making progress at this speed.