Ask HN: Has anyone had success improving their handwriting?

2 points by alostpuppy ↗ HN
I’ve always had terrible handwriting to the point where classes in college would give me a C with in class exams vs an A with take home. Anyway, thoughts, ideas, techniques?

7 comments

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Slow down. Physically, perform it in a slow and patient way.

Practice for at least 10-15 minutes every day.

If you do this, I guarantee you'll improve. It's a skill which requires practice to level up and maintain.

Meta: Why are you asking HN about this? I mean no offense, genuinely not understanding how you think about this problem, and I'd like to better understand your reasoning. In the back of my mind I wonder if you're just karma farming. Not that anyone has ever admitted it yet, IME.

First submission from a 2 year old account with 46 karma. If he's "karma farming", he's playing the long game
Gonna sell that HN account on eBay for a sweet sum! *grin*
Haha. I’ve been reading this site for 12 years or whatever and never realized their was karma to be had!

It hit me while reading my 47th write up on todo apps one of the best features of the HN audience is deep thinking on somewhat random topics. Sometimes only tangentially related to tech. Of course, bullet journaling was discussed which I’ve always dismissed it as a possibility because my aforementioned handwriting legibility issue. Figured I throw a dart and see if anyone had thoughts beyond what a trainer at a gym might say (slow down and check you form, which is good advice). Given the audience, the link between ADHD and handwriting, it seemed like the perfect venue. Also, I want to try that kindle scribble when it comes out.

Take up calligraphy. It will help you understand and perfect the specific strokes. It will be painfully slow at first, but over time you will get faster and your writing will improve immensely
I practiced calligraphy for a bit

Few tips :

- Analyze what you need to improve

- Trace examples (if you google for example "writing practice sheets" you'll find tons)

- Slow it down, as slow as you can, only speed up slowly later

- Practice things you struggle with in isolation, for example certain letters, or letter combinations

- Try to find joy in your practice; for example setting goals, maybe get creative and try some calligraphy? maybe combine it with journaling? something to motivate you

- Prefer shorter daily practice sessions over longer spaced out sessions

- Be patient and be mindful that it takes time, especially the beginning, don't give up too early

Not that different from learning an instrument btw!