Help! My Cursive Has Become Shaky!

[illetterate]

And no, it's not a tremor.

 

Backstory.

 

For eight years I've worked in my hell hole at a corporate desk job at which the most handwriting involved is writing down my lunch order onto a Post-It once a week. I sometimes jot down 6-digit numbers too. Real intense.

 

Handwriting has always been a passion of mine and I've been dismayed to watch mine give up the ghost. I committed fully to learning calligraphy in some serious way, but had no guidance and was subsequently clueless. In March, a stray comment changed my life and put a name to my penmanship journey. Copperplate. Copperplate and I evolved from strangers to lovers to sharing a very twisted BDSM relationship, all in a matter of weeks.

 

I practiced, a lot. Drills and drills and drills. I drilled for weeks before attempting minuscules, even. Unfortunately my progress slowed down a LOT once I endeavored along with majuscules. I found myself contemplating a universe in which no capital B exists, but then how could there be no Beyonce.

 

So with slowed progress I've practiced less. I haven't stopped. And I've practiced some other styles, more modern, since I do have an okay command of my dip pen at this point. (This may have been a huge mistake.)

 

Completely against my will, fountain pens keep accumulating in my house. I feel bad for them getting tinkered with and not getting enough paper time. It's surprising how difficult it seemed to find anything to write about, but I slowly started to practice.

 

Oh. The horror. I cannot write. It shakes, it trembles, it's confused. Whose hand is this? It's ten times worse than it's ever been in my life. What is going on here?

 

My theories are that my muscle memory has been obliterated for small cursive. Well, actually that's my only theory.

 

What can I do about it? I have some books on Spencerian but will likely need some videos to understand this rhythmic thing. Is this what I need, or do I need to just slow down and let my own unique hand return to me (most likely in a very different way than it used to be)?

 

I know there's no right answer but any advice would be appreciated because I'm pretty stumped at this point.

 

This photo shows my hand as steady as I can get and trying to experiment a bit. I'll respond with a better one shortly.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 30, 2016 by illetterate

[lgbpinho]

I'm in the process of reforming my handwriting, using those Spencerian books. I notice that if I write slow or if I write fast my handwriting looks ok. But I use a speed between those it looks shaky as you described in the pic. Not sure if this helps though.

 

EDIT: Also, it looks more consistent when I write with an finer nib.

Edited July 30, 2016 by lgbpinho

[linearM]

So you need something to write about and you need practice. I would suggest you go to Write Stuff forum here on FPN or lettermo.com....yes I know it's not February, but there are still people who want to write letters. Find someone who you would like to write to (Australia, Japan, England, where ever) and start writing. You will put your writing to good use, be able to practice and improve your handwriting, and perhaps make a friend. That is how I keep my handwriting in shape and improve it as well.

 

By the way, I see nothing wrong with your handwriting!

[akustyk]

  On 7/30/2016 at 8:41 PM, illetterate said:

And no, it's not a tremor.

 

What can I do about it? I have some books on Spencerian but will likely need some videos to understand this rhythmic thing. Is this what I need, or do I need to just slow down and let my own unique hand return to me (most likely in a very different way than it used to be)?

 

First of all, welcome to FPN, and thank you for sharing your story. I am not a handwriting expert, but I have been on the forum for a couple of years now, and have had time to think about this stuff .

 

I think that there's a misconception that in order to improve one's handwriting, one needs to give up on one's own hand, and take up Spencerian, or another well-established style. The common advice is, buy the book, practice, write with whole arm, etc., etc.

 

I am afraid my experience, and hence, my advice, is very different. I don't believe in giving up your hand. There's a reason you write a certain way. It's taken you thousands of hours to develop the style over the years. All you have to do now, is improve consistency in letter forms, but, more importantly, in spacing and joining. That is, in my opinion, the fastest, and most "natural" road to beautiful handwriting. Ever letter form consists of small strokes, building blocks, if you will. Keep your building blocks. They're yours.

 

What's happening to you now is you're trying to pick up somebody else's building blocks (strokes). Your nervous system is unfamiliar with them. It's like trying to write by looking at the reflection of your hand in the mirror. Try it, you'll see what I mean.

 

So, keep your existing handwriting, just improve consistency. If you want to pursue calligraphy, such as Copperplate, by all means, do so. Calligraphy is more like drawing rather than writing. It's a different process, and one that's not going to mess with your existing handwriting.

[Ileach]

  On 7/30/2016 at 8:41 PM, illetterate said:

And no, it's not a tremor.

 

Oh. The horror. I cannot write. It shakes, it trembles, it's confused. Whose hand is this? It's ten times worse than it's ever been in my life. What is going on here?

 

My theories are that my muscle memory has been obliterated for small cursive. Well, actually that's my only theory.

 

What can I do about it? I have some books on Spencerian but will likely need some videos to understand this rhythmic thing. Is this what I need, or do I need to just slow down and let my own unique hand return to me (most likely in a very different way than it used to be)?

 

I know there's no right answer but any advice would be appreciated because I'm pretty stumped at this point.

 

When I look at the second image I'd say you need more training and also get more relaxed. However, it may come by itself with more training. Maybe you should consider to write some more and also slow down to a comfortable speed of writing. A handwriting is something very personal so there is no reason to change the style. It's simply your own style of writing.

 

If you do not know what to write, either start journaling (make sure you get some good notebook, you do not want to write on paper you do not like) or get some penpals. Have a look at the snail mail list.

[Sailor Kenshin]

  On 7/30/2016 at 8:41 PM, illetterate said:

And no, it's not a tremor.

 

Backstory.

 

For eight years I've worked in my hell hole at a corporate desk job at which the most handwriting involved is writing down my lunch order onto a Post-It once a week. I sometimes jot down 6-digit numbers too. Real intense.

 

Handwriting has always been a passion of mine and I've been dismayed to watch mine give up the ghost. I committed fully to learning calligraphy in some serious way, but had no guidance and was subsequently clueless. In March, a stray comment changed my life and put a name to my penmanship journey. Copperplate. Copperplate and I evolved from strangers to lovers to sharing a very twisted BDSM relationship, all in a matter of weeks.

 

I practiced, a lot. Drills and drills and drills. I drilled for weeks before attempting minuscules, even. Unfortunately my progress slowed down a LOT once I endeavored along with majuscules. I found myself contemplating a universe in which no capital B exists, but then how could there be no Beyonce.

 

So with slowed progress I've practiced less. I haven't stopped. And I've practiced some other styles, more modern, since I do have an okay command of my dip pen at this point. (This may have been a huge mistake.)

 

Completely against my will, fountain pens keep accumulating in my house. I feel bad for them getting tinkered with and not getting enough paper time. It's surprising how difficult it seemed to find anything to write about, but I slowly started to practice.

 

Oh. The horror. I cannot write. It shakes, it trembles, it's confused. Whose hand is this? It's ten times worse than it's ever been in my life. What is going on here?

 

My theories are that my muscle memory has been obliterated for small cursive. Well, actually that's my only theory.

 

What can I do about it? I have some books on Spencerian but will likely need some videos to understand this rhythmic thing. Is this what I need, or do I need to just slow down and let my own unique hand return to me (most likely in a very different way than it used to be)?

 

I know there's no right answer but any advice would be appreciated because I'm pretty stumped at this point.

 

This photo shows my hand as steady as I can get and trying to experiment a bit. I'll respond with a better one shortly.

 

Do you use a Deathgrip? This may cause muscle fatigue and shakiness. Ask me how I know.

[CraigN]

illetterate,

 

I appreciate your concern. Unlike you, I have occasional tremors in the thumb and forefinger of my dominant hand. I mentioned it to my doctor recently and was asked if there was a particular time of day or circumstance where the tremor was present. Currently, I don't know exactly when it occurs, but I am trying to narrow down the times when this occurs. You may want to see if your writing issues follow some activity or a particular time of day.

 

I have encountered times when I had difficulty writing and can say that writing and other actions were the most challenging after times when I was playing softball, operating a chainsaw for long periods, shooting competitively, and probably other times as well. Think about things you do that challenge those writing muscles.

 

Also unlike you, I do not practice writing and write the most when journaling during camping trips. Due to this lack of practice, it is no surprise that my handwriting is good at times and not so good otherwise. During these trips, my handwriting is bad if I write too soon after a long drive (think hands on the wheel for prolonged periods, stress, etc.). I think it is necessary to relax first in order to do my best in the journals. As lgbpinho mentioned earlier, pace is also important. Writing too fast or slow really messes up the product on the paper.

 

I wish you good luck in correcting the issues you have experienced.

 

Regards,

Craig

Edited July 31, 2016 by CraigN

[zuerincolour]

  On 7/30/2016 at 11:41 PM, akustyk said:

I am not a handwriting expert, but

Your Instagram page is out of this world though.

 

 

I'm not sure if my advice would be of any use in your situation, but I did notice shaky handwriting when I got serious about improving my own. I found that when I thought too hard or focused too hard on practicing drills I became shaky. When I wrote random sentences from my head to practice it was a lot better. Speeding up my handwriting was also really useful. Drills never worked for me, only constant continued writing. In my case, it was taking notes in University. Once in a while I would go back to my writing to critique the letter forms for future improvement.

[celesul]

I associate shaky lines in drawing and writing with overly tense muscles. So try to relax I guess.

 

I'd also recommend trying to let your handwriting do its thing for a while. It sounds like Copperplate just doesn't get along with you. And that's okay. Spencerian cursive works well for me, I think because my handwriting tends towards spiky and slanted whether I'm aiming for that or not, and Spencerian works with those tendencies but tames them. I've tried Italic though, and it's a lost cause. My handwriting just does not want to be italic, and attempts to write that way end in failure. Edit:I can do italic slowly, as calligraphy, but not as writing. I think it's more drawing a letter then.

 

So, I guess what I'd say is that if you do want a formally defined handwriting style, try to pick one that works with your quirks rather than against them. Round handwriting lends itself beautifully to French style cursive, for example. I'm rubbish at it, but it can look charming.

Edited July 31, 2016 by celesul

[tinta]

Illeterate, you already have a decent basic hand.

Try to write when you're not tired. You may find that when your hands & mind are relaxed, the "squiggles" may not be a bother. In your case, you said yours isn't a tremor.

In my case it is & continues to be. I'm looking into the medical cause.

 

Anyways, about five years ago, occasional involuntary tremors would take over my writing hand. It was very frustrating. Worrying too.

This made conventional ball tipped nibs impossible for me to use. Like with ballpoints & roller balls, I'd skate all over the paper with a round tipped nib.

 

So that I can have a wider, more stable contact on the paper, I started using edged nibs (stubs mostly). These nibs provided me with an "outrigger" or "training wheel" effect, steadying my nibs as I wrote.

 

At the same time I experimented with a variety of nib widths from 0.6 mm to 1.5 mm wide. First the wider stubs or cursive italics (8.0 to 1.1) would work the best. As I continued to practise my writing through journaling & letter writing, I gained more control & confidence with the narrower( 0.6 & 0.7 mm.). nibs. I'm starting to appreciate narrower 0.6 stubs.

 

Slowing down & using edged (Stub & CI) nibs have helped me tremendously. I still have bad days or even weeks,...when I know in the morning that on that day that hand writing is just not "on". The type of nibs have helped though.

Edited July 31, 2016 by tinta

[illetterate]

  On 7/30/2016 at 11:41 PM, akustyk said:

 

I think that there's a misconception that in order to improve one's handwriting, one needs to give up on one's own hand, and take up Spencerian, or another well-established style. The common advice is, buy the book, practice, write with whole arm, etc., etc.

 

I am afraid my experience, and hence, my advice, is very different. I don't believe in giving up your hand. There's a reason you write a certain way. It's taken you thousands of hours to develop the style over the years. All you have to do now, is improve consistency in letter forms, but, more importantly, in spacing and joining. That is, in my opinion, the fastest, and most "natural" road to beautiful handwriting. Ever letter form consists of small strokes, building blocks, if you will. Keep your building blocks. They're yours.

 

What's happening to you now is you're trying to pick up somebody else's building blocks (strokes). Your nervous system is unfamiliar with them. It's like trying to write by looking at the reflection of your hand in the mirror. Try it, you'll see what I mean.

 

So, keep your existing handwriting, just improve consistency.

 

 

This was certainly something I considered. I should have pointed out that I really can't remember how to write in cursive anyway, and was probably just trying to imitate Copperplate, which does not translate to a normal cursive writing. I do believe I will take your advice and try to practice my kinks out and perhaps find some new elements.

 

Thank you!

[illetterate]

  On 7/31/2016 at 12:50 AM, Sailor Kenshin said:

Do you use a Deathgrip? This may cause muscle fatigue and shakiness. Ask me how I know.

 

This is something I've considered. Having written more with a dip pen than anything else lately, it takes conscious thought to relax my hand and not apply more pressure on downstrokes. I mean, I think I'm relaxed but I'm only slightly more relaxed than about to snap. I can work on this and my grip.

[illetterate]

  On 7/31/2016 at 3:12 AM, CraigN said:

I have encountered times when I had difficulty writing and can say that writing and other actions were the most challenging after times when I was playing softball, operating a chainsaw for long periods, shooting competitively, and probably other times as well. Think about things you do that challenge those writing muscles.

 

Also unlike you, I do not practice writing and write the most when journaling during camping trips. Due to this lack of practice, it is no surprise that my handwriting is good at times and not so good otherwise. During these trips, my handwriting is bad if I write too soon after a long drive (think hands on the wheel for prolonged periods, stress, etc.). I think it is necessary to relax first in order to do my best in the journals. As lgbpinho mentioned earlier, pace is also important. Writing too fast or slow really messes up the product on the paper.

 

 

This is true. I couldn't write well for almost a week after I played tennis. Some days I can do dip pen drills for four hours and then realize I'm DONE for the day as the quality takes a nosedive.

 

It's been alarming to find myself in this position but I will keep at it, probably with an open mind to what my hand enjoys with the pen. And I'll take care to relax!!!!!!

[Rednaxela]

Please have a look at Plate 10 and 11 of this book: https://archive.org/details/MillsModernBusinessPenmanship

 

If you would write a series of i's, o's and io's the way it is illustrated there, would they still turn out shaky? If not, perhaps this is a good starting point for redeveloping your handwriting?

[policefoxlyn]

I do have a tremor, no particular medical cause that I'm aware of, I've had it since I was a child. I DO have a death grip as a result of trying to control the tremor. Sometimes I can write beautifully, others I can't and I'm aware that the more I try to write beautifully, the more elusive it becomes there for psychology plays a part.

 

A tip I read to relax the grip is to tap the barrel with your index finger three times (I do it with my thumb too as that's also tense)

 

I'm guessing writing for pleasure rather than writing for practice would also help.

 

I'm currently practicing my handwriting but I've decided to stick with my own hand (I was taught Nelson handwriting) slightly mixed with the Write Now cursive italic as it used to be fairly neat and, fortunately, it's a style I like.

[ac12]

Ideas some repeated:

 

- Relax your grip on the pen. Someone should be able to pull the pen straight out from your hand. If your index finger is concave, you are holding the pen too tight.

 

- Posture. I find that if I do not set myself up right (chair height relative to writing surface height, position/angle of the paper, where my arm is, etc.) My writing may not look very good.

 

- Speed. I found that to write, there is a certain minimum speed that I have to write the stroke with. Note that I said the STROKE, not the word. A letter is made up of many strokes, sometimes separated by a pause, not a continuous non-stop movement.

Example M = short upstroke, pause, down stroke, pause, hump, pause, hump, exit stroke.

If I write too SLOW, my stroke gets shaky, like I am drawing rather than writing.

Similarly, if I write FAST, my handwriting gets BAD. The faster I write, the worse it gets.

 

- Write a journal. Get a notebook and write, anything and everything; what you ate, the weather, shopping list, etc. etc. The idea is simply to write more. The more you write/practice, the more your style/hand can develop and get to become natural. If you write enough, journal writing can develop into a habit. I don't feel right if I don't write at least 4 pages a day.

 

gud luk

Edited August 1, 2016 by ac12

[Helen350]

  On 7/30/2016 at 11:41 PM, akustyk said:

 

First of all, welcome to FPN, and thank you for sharing your story. I am not a handwriting expert, but I have been on the forum for a couple of years now, and have had time to think about this stuff .

 

I think that there's a misconception that in order to improve one's handwriting, one needs to give up on one's own hand, and take up Spencerian, or another well-established style. The common advice is, buy the book, practice, write with whole arm, etc., etc.

 

I am afraid my experience, and hence, my advice, is very different. I don't believe in giving up your hand. There's a reason you write a certain way. It's taken you thousands of hours to develop the style over the years. All you have to do now, is improve consistency in letter forms, but, more importantly, in spacing and joining. That is, in my opinion, the fastest, and most "natural" road to beautiful handwriting. Ever letter form consists of small strokes, building blocks, if you will. Keep your building blocks. They're yours.

 

What's happening to you now is you're trying to pick up somebody else's building blocks (strokes). Your nervous system is unfamiliar with them. It's like trying to write by looking at the reflection of your hand in the mirror. Try it, you'll see what I mean.

 

So, keep your existing handwriting, just improve consistency. If you want to pursue calligraphy, such as Copperplate, by all means, do so. Calligraphy is more like drawing rather than writing. It's a different process, and one that's not going to mess with your existing handwriting.

 

Very sound and encouraging advice! Gives me hope and takes away the stress.

[tinta]

I too agree with Akustic.

 

Keep your accumulated muscle memory's knowledge & improve upon it by repetition. You may not like the shape of a few letters or how they are connected to a next letter. Then change just those elements in your writing. You do not need to start learning a new writing system.

 

Get into a habit of regular hand writing (letters, journals, notes,....etc.). Muscle memory is a tricky thing too, because to unlearn is a lot harder than it is to learn "tabula rasa" (meaning, with a clean start).

 

Yesterday I wrote three long letters, using four nib styles & ink colours. This day was a rare "good hand day" for me. I seemed to be relaxed throughout the long writing session. Had a minimum of hand tremors & even those were well under my control.

 

Sometimes too, when I'm a participant in a large muscle activity (say, fly casting), I perform thousands of repeated cycles with my flyrod during an afternoon. Not only my casting arm & hands are engaged, but also my fingers (handling the cork grips & line).

 

To then come home & calmly pen a letter of a number of pages spells disaster. My hand & arm are still so focused on the previous large muscle activity, that the small muscles in my hand just don't want to operate properly.

It's best then to wait for a day, stretch your hand muscles, or gently use an "Eggsecizer", then proceed with your pen.

 

Just my experience.

Hope some of it can be useful.

István

Edited August 2, 2016 by tinta

[LorDAsBaat]

I had it too. The reason was that I was writing under stress (as I had exams). This happens when more words pour in your mind than your hand can write especially with a time limit. Just relax, do some hand and finger excercises, put your hand to rest. Then after 1-2 days, write slowly and calmly. You will write normal again! Good luck

[sidthecat]

There are drugs that will help you relax.