My Journey To A Legible Hand

[GClef]

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/gclef1114/photobucket-40553-1355645192886.jpg

[Inkyfingerz]

Can italic be fast enough to write a page in about 10 minutes? That's a speed I can live with. As it is now I'm rarely struggling to get all my notes down in time since there are students in my class that take ver batim notes instead of rephrasing and omitting some things. I think a nice italic looks better than cursive does. Plenty of people have a nice cursive hand because everyone learns in it elementary school. Italic is scarcer and, as I stated above, I think the shading that a good ink and pen can provide adds a lot to the writing. I'm not attempting to set any records with how quickly I write. I just want it to be fast enough that I can write at nearly my current speed.

[GClef]

Uh oh...phone battle dying.

Time to plug in.

[Inkyfingerz]

Uh oh...phone battle dying.

Time to plug in.

 

I had to do the same thing lol

[bizmiard]

Hmm.. I'm honestly not sure if what I have is strictly a cursive or an italic- I would guess at it being cursive with a few italic elements. As such, I imagine that yes you could get it at that speed..

 

But if you do know how I'm writing, just from the last sample I posted, let me know?

[Inkyfingerz]

I really have no idea lol to me that the just appears to be cursive.

[GClef]

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/gclef1114/photobucket-48023-1355647130233.jpg

[bizmiard]

Tilted, perhaps by 20 degrees?

[GClef]

Tilted, perhaps by 20 degrees?

And at what angle do you hold the pen in relation to the lines on the paper?

[Inkyfingerz]

Off the top of my head I couldn't tell you very accurately and I'm not getting out of my bed to check. I'd say that the paper is anywhere from 20-30 degrees and my pen forms a 30-ish degree angle with the paper. Perhaps more, I doubt that it's less.

Edited December 16, 2012 by Inkyfingerz

[GClef]

Try this, I know it's helped tremendously with my penmanship:

Skew the paper to about 45 degrees, and orient the pen, so that it's perpendicular to the lines.

This way you are sort of "pushing" your pen as you write, as opposed to "dragging" it.

Ya feel me?

[caliken]

Can italic be fast enough to write a page in about 10 minutes?

 

This Italic was written by Tom Gourdie in 2 minutes.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/caliken_2007/tomgourdiescript500.jpg

[Hetty]

Can italic be fast enough to write a page in about 10 minutes?

 

This Italic was written by Tom Gourdie in 2 minutes.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/caliken_2007/tomgourdiescript500.jpg

 

Still beautiful, distinctive, and rhythmic even at such great speed.

 

Hetty

[Hetty]

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/gclef1114/photobucket-48023-1355647130233.jpg

 

Both your hands are beautiful and distinctive, GClef. May I ask what pen and ink you are using? Lovely work.

 

Hetty

[notbob]

"a flexible or semi-flexible nib"

 

Boy, howdy!

 

Now that I've gotten a couple Noodler flex nibs and have been working hard to learn how to go light on the up-stroke and heavy on the down-stroke, danged if my old 3rd grade cursive isn't serving me pretty well. Seems I learned it better than I thought I did and merely became inexcusably lazy over the years. It certainly comes more natural to me than italic, which though I love it and am getting better every day, I still find myself leaving out letters or making an e instead of a c, concentrating so hard on proper execution of the style. With my flex cursive, the letter forms come naturally and I can concentrate on the up-down thing. I even find myself slowed down enough to put that classic little jog in the lower case r, something I'd totally corrupted a lifetime ago.

 

Regardless, they are both great fun and good handwriting is wholly obtainable. Jes for grins, I looked up "graphology (graphoanalysis)", that pseudo-science that has us all scared to death we are doomed to bad handwriting forever cuz we're really nefarious people who don't love our mothers, etc. Guess what! It's all bunk.: total bunk link

 

BTW, I substituted text for your written example cuz one graphic is enough.

[Inkyfingerz]

Would a stub nib be better than a cursive italic nib?

 

Edit: I like the increased line variation that a cursive italic has over a stub. I may buy my new Sheaffer and then send it to Richard Binder for a re-grind.

Edited December 16, 2012 by Inkyfingerz

[Vipersdad]

I understand Italic scales well with with speed and is easy to read for many people. For more information, find FPN member caliken and take a look at his postings and his books.

 

I like Business Writing because it is a very fluid, or flowing, style. There appears to be a strong "drive forward" when using this style and it's well suited to fine nibs. For more information, go to www.iampeth.com, section Rare Books and take a look at Modern Business Penmanship by EC Mills. Alternatively, explore the Palmer method.

 

Business and Palmer can get choppy when written at speed. For instance, the nice ascenders and loops in the letters l, h, b and k disappear when I speed up my writing. I like the way you flow from one letter to the next, e.g. in the word "all."

 

Most importantly, I think, is to develop a relaxed hand. Search for words like "death grip" and "tripod grip." Try to use your whole arm and not just your fingers when writing. Practise, sketch, doodle.

 

edit: want to add that I'm also learning and improving as I go along. I only recently discovered a rhythm of sorts that I can apply when writing. I'm switching back and forth between bigger and smaller pens, scribbly vintage nibs and sturdy modern pens.

 

Here is my grandfather's Palmer Method Certificate from 1922. He was 24 at the time and had a long career as an educator starting in a one room rural school and ending up directing County Normal Teacher's Colleges in Wisconsin.

I couldn't scan the whole document on my flatbed at home. I have quite a few fountain pens that they owned and currently use them. Both my mother [86] and my stepfather [87] remember the Palmer Method very well.

 

Vipersdad

Edited December 16, 2012 by Vipersdad

[WordStains.]

You and I are in the same academic boat, InkyFingerz!

And I have some of the same problems you do.

It's hard practicing a hand at home only to see it all washed away to an inky mess within 10 minutes of Cellular Neuro. I've found that forcing myself to slow down has helps me develop my working hand as well as teaches [forces] me to write better, more concise notes (hard lesson. Still grumble about it.) Worst comes to worst, grabbing a sound recording can help and, at the very least, it's worth a try.

 

There's also the problem of line space. There's nothing worse than trying to review notes and finding that a single lecture has spanned over 10 pages with very very little information density per page. -___-

That constant flipping around leads to more aggrevation that studying. Times like those I wish I just typed notes and printed them. (But I love writing waaay to much to even seriously consider the idea!)

Still working on that. But I write in print, so, while this slows me down, I can up my page density.

I'm still working on a legible, dense cursive. Once I develop one, maybe I can push it out to my lecture rooms...

I'm considering Palmer, as well. (Mind if I join you on your journey, come summer? =D )

 

I've tried using an italic and, while my pen was a cheap Sheaffer Viewpoint, I found it unfit for notetaking.

It can be slower and writing at speed tends to cause snags and skips. Also, doodling was a very present distraction. (I can only imagine a flex would be worse! But, of course, I'm self diagnosed ADDerp.) This is could because the italic was new and unexplored, but... yeahh...

Don't get me wrong, I love my italic! Just not in the classroom.

 

Presently, I use a Parker Vector F with Sheaffer Skrip Blue (can't say I have much ink experience, but that is a niiiice ink. Gorgeous deep blue.) in print. I'll put up a picture when I get time (I should be studying for my Bio final tomorrow... =/ ).

 

Keep us posted! =)

 

WS.

_____________________________________________

This may or may not double as an attempt to

up my post score to be allowed to participate

in the Estie Loaner Program.

[WordStains.]

Oh! One more thing.

I've heard many say that higher end fountains require higher end paper. Well, being a college kid, I ventured to the lower end of fountains and hoped it would work well on notebook paper. Turns out the vector does! (Unlike my italic =/ ) I attribute this to the small amount of ink it uses that keeps the writing from feathering. Whatever the cost. It's cheap and it works well. It's worth at least looking into! =)

 

Addition Edit:

Just realized I could edit instead of adding a post. Well, I feel dumb. Anyhoo:

Since you brought up FPs in the professional, especially medical, world, how rampant is carbon paper in said world? Enough that an FP may not be reasonable? I ask because I know a few clinics in which this is the case. Surely, those are just a bit technologically laggy?

 

WS.

Edited December 17, 2012 by WordStains.

[GClef]

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/gclef1114/photobucket-4247-1340606484789.jpg