Left Handed Improvement Hand Writing

[PanchoElizalde]

I'm 3an old left handed writer. I love use fountain pens and I like to improve my hand writing.

All books reccomended in this forum are before the left handed people were enable to use left hand.

Do you know any good text for left handed imrovement hand writing?

Thanks a lot

[BDarchitect]

Hello Pancho- We are probably a similar vintage, and I am also a left handed writer. I have recently been training myself to change from side writing to under writing, and am enjoying writing now for the first time in my life, especially with fountain pens.

I have purchased a number of guide books that have been helpful in different ways, and these are the ones I would suggest-

Write Now, by Barbara Getty and Inga Dubay is very helpful and addresses the particular issues facing lefties. Even more attention to left handed writers is given in Improve Your Handwriting, by Rosemary Sassoon. Neither are very expensive but both offer excellent penmanship advice for contemporary italic writing styles. If you are hoping to improve a more traditional handwriting style, say a Palmer Method style, then Michael Sull's The Art of Cursive Penmanship is very helpful with some instruction for lefties (though the book itself is wire bound which, for a lefty, gets in the way of using many of the practice lines on the pages). That is available at Goulet Pens dot com for about $20 US plus shipping.

Improve Your Handwriting is good at continual reference to lefties through the text, but most other books include a couple of paragraphs at the beginning about proper pen grip and paper orientation and then never come back to discussing the unique challenges lefties face pushing a pen nib, connecting letters, crossing t's, etc.

There is also a small book by Vance Studley written in the '70s called Left-Handed Calligraphy, which is exclusively written for lefties. Still in print for about $7 US, and full of examples of many classic broad nib alphabet styles.

You might also look for YouTube videos by John DeCollibus, who is an accomplished left handed calligrapher.

 

Good luck, improving your penmanship is a totally worthwhile endeavor! Be patient and stick to it, the old brain/hand habits take a while to undo and retrain.

[sidthecat]

I’m a southpaw who varies between overhand, sidehand and a couple of eccentric variants. I’m not especially systematic about my writing at all, but every animation professional is essentially an amateur forger. So what I’ve mostly done is learn to forge the styles I like: most recently Edward Johnston’s script, which is very upright and handsome; relatively easy to do with the left hand. The downside is the limited number of examples and total lack of instruction in it. That said, it’s appealing and very legible.

[leksluthah]

Hello Pancho- We are probably a similar vintage, and I am also a left handed writer. I have recently been training myself to change from side writing to under writing, and am enjoying writing now for the first time in my life, especially with fountain pens.

I have purchased a number of guide books that have been helpful in different ways, and these are the ones I would suggest-

Write Now, by Barbara Getty and Inga Dubay is very helpful and addresses the particular issues facing lefties. Even more attention to left handed writers is given in Improve Your Handwriting, by Rosemary Sassoon. Neither are very expensive but both offer excellent penmanship advice for contemporary italic writing styles. If you are hoping to improve a more traditional handwriting style, say a Palmer Method style, then Michael Sull's The Art of Cursive Penmanship is very helpful with some instruction for lefties (though the book itself is wire bound which, for a lefty, gets in the way of using many of the practice lines on the pages). That is available at Goulet Pens dot com for about $20 US plus shipping.

Improve Your Handwriting is good at continual reference to lefties through the text, but most other books include a couple of paragraphs at the beginning about proper pen grip and paper orientation and then never come back to discussing the unique challenges lefties face pushing a pen nib, connecting letters, crossing t's, etc.

There is also a small book by Vance Studley written in the '70s called Left-Handed Calligraphy, which is exclusively written for lefties. Still in print for about $7 US, and full of examples of many classic broad nib alphabet styles.

You might also look for YouTube videos by John DeCollibus, who is an accomplished left handed calligrapher.

 

Good luck, improving your penmanship is a totally worthwhile endeavor! Be patient and stick to it, the old brain/hand habits take a while to undo and retrain.

 

+1

 

I'm glad to read about others having the same struggles as myself. I'd say try to get or read as many varied books as possible, but then experiment for yourself. My handwriting is still not great, but when I found authors who suggested concentrating on comfort, rhythm, and relaxed grip, my ability to write legibly changed considerably. I also now write with the paper on my right tilted some. That helps, too. Keep experimenting and try things until you find your own sweet spot. I have a copy of the Getty Dubay book and the Vance Studley book and refer back to them regularly, so that's a great place to start.

[DitasVeg]

I'm also an (old) leftie. Never have been an overwriter but I figure in my childhood I was I side writer, because I remember hansmearing and how uncomfortable it was to use spiral-bound notebooks. I also have the Getty and Dubay book and highly recommend it. My current handwriting evolved from the italic they teach!

[ParramattaPaul]

Rosemary Sassoon, a leading authority on handwriting, wrote 'Improving Your Handwriting' specifically for adults who want to do just that. It has advice for lefties. Amazon stocks it.

Edited September 7, 2019 by ParramattaPaul

[Chmara]

I restarted trying for cursive clarity with my left hand again two years ago (I am 78) and with some practice am almost to the point of readability. I am an underwriter who is still trying to NOT slant my paper. This makes for a challenge.

 

In grammar school in the 1940s and 50's they would not tolerate overwriting and remained suspicious of side writers . So in junior high -- tired of passing spelling tests on approximate illegibilities, I was given and Underwood portable typewriter and ribbons by my parents. But no instructions on how to keyboard the darned thing -- but I got through college and military service using the six finger method. This is funny for a writer - my career being in news, radio, television and marketing.

 

My scrawl at 76 when I started was more like fly specs and hen scratches than handwriting.

 

I looked, searched, dug and spent hours on-line trying to find solid advice. I spent way too much on used books heralded to be to be for lefties. All seemingly were turned out by righties taking pity on we few of the left handed disability. Even the Studley book was daringly light on advice that worked for me.

 

Then, I finally remembered that my genius middle son had similar problems in school, and invented his own very readable version of the alphabet which allowed him to be a speed demon taking notes and writing essays and notes. In some ways it crossed Elvish from the Lord of the Rings with clean block lettering.

 

From that remembrance I started working on my own approach to script. A bit from here, a letter or two from there -- some practice and change to make it seem uniform and it, for me, started to work.

 

Several friends and editors have seen my new approach and even claimed that they could read it. While I am not happy with it yet, and have lost some momentum to illness and hospital visits, I found support and help In these forums and particularly. On pen choice, how to treat nibs and feeds and with friendly correspondence, Honeybadgers has been an immense help, even though he is a righty writer with great handwriting.

 

Early on here I suggested a topic set for lefties, but the moderators have somewhat rightfully felt that that there is a lot to be learned from the other topics and categories here as I would search for them -- where lefties might be tempted to go only to the one category.

 

Today I have downloaded many alphabet examples, tried Spencerian guides, traced letters, even tried old exercises as taught years ago.Some of it has been useful, but the greatest thing I have learned is to get comfortable after learning that righties drag the nib when we have to push, Compensate for that and invent your own personal look that you find well written. Then, it is only practice, handwritten correspondence and journaling for your own satisfaction that will "make things better."

 

For some, this may be a tall order, but for lefties of my (and from your picture) your age too) it seems to be the only sane advice I can give that is workoing for me.

[BDarchitect]

Chmara- would you post photos of your Elvish-derivative handwriting with some explanation of the speed and legibility tricks? Whether you have mastered it or not, your description is quite intriguing.

And, for what its worth, I would definitely support a separate left handed forum.

[sidthecat]

Ive put a little bit of Secretary Hand back into my Johnston-derived script: Ive always been charmed by its backward ascenders. The result is still rather scrawley, but its decently legible: an example is posted below.

Id tell my fellow lefties to strike out on their own.

[BDarchitect]

Those are some serious descenders, Sid!

Edited November 28, 2019 by BDarchitect

[sidthecat]

I suppose I should scale the whole thing down...or start double-spacing.

[Biber]

Those are some serious descenders, Sid!

 

Actually, it's kind of attractive. Neat, even and consistent. What more could you ask for?

[glittergreen8]

On 11/16/2019 at 5:36 PM, sidthecat said:

Ive put a little bit of Secretary Hand back into my Johnston-derived script: Ive always been charmed by its backward ascenders. The result is still rather scrawley, but its decently legible: an example is posted below.

Id tell my fellow lefties to strike out on their own.

This type of hand writing is so cool!

[txomsy]

I bought "Left-Handed Calligraphy" by Vance Studley for my left-handed son. It may do for a good read.

[channelsixtynine069]

I gave up trying to write like a right handed person over 40 years ago whilst in high school.

 

My writing was too slow and it was a literal painful exercise, holding the pencil very hard so I could keep control over my writing.

 

I spoke to my English teacher and she sent me to an auxiliary teacher who was also left handed. She got me started in underwriting and.... using a back-slant in forming letters.

 

There are no rules to say letters have to have a forward slant as written by right handed people. A back slant is far more natural and less stress on the hand. It also promotes holding the pen far more relaxed.

 

With a 40 to 45 degree tilt on the paper to the right, you are effectively underwriting down the page. I also hold a writing stick, whether it be a pencil or a pen, further up the barrel than a right handed person. This, so I don't need to frequently stop to "catch up" to the pencil, I can write longer before stopping. It also reduces the chance of smudging. Not that smudging worries me.

 

As a result, my writing speed increased dramatically and my letter forming improved.

 

Anyone who is left handed should give underwriting a try and allow yourself to back slant your letters. I may feel weird at first, but that quickly gives way to writing pleasure.

 

After observing my underwriting, it appeared I was dragging the pencil, more than pushing it, though less than a right handed person would. This will always be the best I could achieve, short of mirror writing regularly, or learn to write right handed.

 

Though I touch type more than anything else, I still want to retain my handwriting skills.

 

Cheers

[XYZZY]

30 minutes ago, channelsixtynine069 said:

With a 40 to 45 degree tilt on the paper to the right, you are effectively underwriting down the page. I also hold a writing stick, whether it be a pencil or a pen, further up the barrel than a right handed person. This, so I don't need to frequently stop to "catch up" to the pencil, I can write longer before stopping. It also reduces the chance of smudging. Not that smudging worries me.

 

 

I am a left-handed over/side writer (pen is roughly 45-degrees above the line), so a lot of what you wrote is different for me, but the paragraph that I quoted here jumped out to me as "Hey, I do that too!".  I also tend to hold pens higher up, a habit I got into long ago for the specific reason of reducing the need to "catch up" as you call it.  Reducing the number of hand movement events is even more important for an overwriter so as to reduce smudging.  For many fountain pens with a more common #6 nib I find that I frequently hold a pen up on the threads at the far end of the section, just to get more reach.

 

However, I also find that if I'm trying to write neatly, which for me is mostly about consistency, it helps to hold the pen closer to the tip.  Why?  When reducing the catch-ups, you're also increasing the variation in angle between pen and paper (i.e. the first letter you write the pen is closer to vertical, and as you write more and reach further out the pen angles down towards horizontal).  That variation makes it just that much harder for me to produce consistent letterforms.  This comes at the cost of more frequent repositioning of my hand.

[channelsixtynine069]

Hi, XYZZY, I used to be a side writer, but try as I may, I could not find away of side writing faster and without strain, even when holding the pencil further up the barrel. Then I tried copying other left handed writers in my class at the time... there were only two others.... when they wrote above the line in a hook style. That made things even worse. I tried it recently, still can't do it.

 

Interesting that you hold your pen 40 to 45 degrees above the line. You are doing the same thing as tilting the page to the right, but the other way round.

 

6 hours ago, XYZZY said:

 

 Reducing the number of hand movement events is even more important for an overwriter so as to reduce smudging.  For many fountain pens with a more common #6 nib I find that I frequently hold a pen up on the threads at the far end of the section, just to get more reach.

 

However, I also find that if I'm trying to write neatly, which for me is mostly about consistency, it helps to hold the pen closer to the tip.  Why?  When reducing the catch-ups, you're also increasing the variation in angle between pen and paper

 

Clearly, these two conditions are in direct conflict with each other and you described it better than I did. This is exactly the dilemma I had, coupled with the need for speed to keep up with future study. You're exactly right, the increased angle of the pen to paper, quickly makes the writing quality deteriorate.

 

Up to that point I used a ballpoint pen, like everyone else. We weren't permitted to write in pencil for assignments. My writing was also very small, as an additional step to reduce the "catch up" problem. That probably was the reason I held the pen so hard, so as to have control over forming small-sized writing. Smudging was an issue for both pen and pencil.

 

That all changed when I was told back slant writing is perfectly legitimate and underwriting was my only option. The hand is now under the writing line, it is clear of the writing line, I have achieved a far longer writing length without catch up, it is faster, less strain on my hand, the letter forming is larger.

 

My pencil writing has always been better than my pen writing. I can only put that down to the resistance a pencil has on the paper compared to a ballpoint. The resistance is critical for a left handed person to maintaining control of the writing stick. With this in mind, it is the reason I finally decided to try a fountain pen. It has both resistance and it is ink. I'm confident I have a suitable writing technique for using it.

 

One other thing changed, my attitude to smudging. Having taken all the steps I could  to eliminate it, when it occurs now, I simply regard it as part of my writing. It is what a left handed writer does. It is a characteristic, of their writing. So if anyone objects ... meh .... it is what it is.

 

Congratulations to you and every other left handed writer, who have found their way to write as best they could. We can't be taught this by right handed writers, it's something that has to be figured out by ourselves, or be helped by other left handed writers.