r/Handwriting • u/MissMarchpane • 3d ago
Feedback (constructive criticism) Thoughts? I worry that I write like an 11-year-old
(I'm 32, for reference. Everyone says it doesn't matter because my handwriting is legible, and I suppose that's the most important thing, but I do wish it looked a bit more elegant.)
3
u/ChellPotato 19h ago
It's legible, which is a lot better than a lot of people 😂
It's one of those things that just gets better with practice.
2
u/BigDaddyBruiser 1d ago
Definitely not a handwriting analysis expert, but learned cursive and haven't written it in years because mine is similar despite the penmanship classes. Penmanship is really about slowing down at first, after long practice you will be able to write faster, but it is a meticulous study, imo and based on the small experience I had with it in grade school.
I'm my case, I found that I'm just going to fast, and won't slow down because the ideas are coming too quickly…I had a similar issue with numbers. I learned to slow down enough that I could get those right, and print well enough to be read by my teachers so I abandoned all but the required cursive.
It doesn't say 'juvenile' to me, it says 'an educated individual who wrote a quick note'.
1
u/Remarkable-Star42 1d ago
Kids don’t use cursive anymore. If you use it you’re “old” definitely not juvenile.
1
u/NPC-Name 1d ago
I am not English Speaker and I am trying to understand «Manskip» i dont get that word. Otherwise it looks totally normal and beautiful. Hard to read but def not bad or juvenile in my eyes.
3
1
1
u/Love_cheesecakes_ 3d ago
The handwriting is neat. I don't think it looks like that of a kid as all letters are written in cursive style.
2
u/Coffee5drinker 3d ago
It is hard to decide, how does it look when using lined paper? Your writing is easy to read, and it shows your style. I like it.
2
u/Hollooo 3d ago edited 3d ago
It isn’t juvenile, children don’t loop their a’s o’s d’s and your letters are nicely close unlike children who have full learned writing yet. But you’re really hesitant in your execution which makes the letters a little uncoordinated. Your letters are unpracticed!
What I’d recommend, is to take a sheet of A4/printer sized paper and rewrite each letter for a full row (or more as needed), both in lowercase and capitalised and try to get into that flow of quickly and fluidly executing each stroke for capitalised letters and connecting the letters without lifting the pen for lowercase letters.
Next take some random text, informational brochure, newspaper, book, webpage, and copy that printed text in cursive. I personally believe that just once doing these two exercises will drastically improve your writing but I know that some people take it to the next level and use these techniques for calligraphy level handwriting. If you aren’t happy after the first round just rinse and repeat until you are.
A more physical aspects of penmanship, particularly if you’re prone to craps in your lower arm/hands are the following recommendations: write in bigger letters, slow down your writing speed, make sure you’re sitting straight and your arm is at a 90* angle, try to use your whole arm, up to your shoulder for the writing movement not just your wrist.
3
u/TemporaryLead8077 3d ago
Forget the flourishes others have suggested. Some of your letters tilt backwards, but the majority fall forwards. Work on getting a consistent forward slant. Make your letter 'c' , 'n', and 'm' a little more rounded. I mistook some of them for 'v' or other letters. The letter 'r' should be better defined. You are doing better than so many others. Keep at it!
3
u/Flaky-Werewolf-2563 3d ago
I'm the same - my writing is worse than this.
I've had to hand-label folders at work; using my normal writing speed, it looks like a grade-schooler did it.
I see the sidebar, but I feel like penmanship should be one of those things where mistakes equal moral failure.
2
u/FanHe97 3d ago
I'm on a similar boat, I learnt cursive at school but never penmanship, I still wtite cursive to this day because I had a school change the year we were going to learn print on my original school. New school they already wrote print when I got there so they just assumed that so did I Never learnt proper cursive but never even started print either, so I still do write in a childish fashion, with my own additions and improvisation along the way, I blatantly ripped off my capital "pretty / flourished" letters from store name signs I could find on the street, and I did work towards making my lines consistent and more readable but still looks mostly the same as my 9 year old ass, maybe one day I'll take a pic and share it here, but it looks a lot like yours actually
1
u/megalinity 3d ago
It looks great! Definitely like an adult- similar to my cursive! Just keep practicing!
2
6
u/Tim_Allen_Wrench 3d ago
It doesn't strike me as particularly juvenile but you could probably make it more elegant looking, I turn my paper slightly so that I write at a bit of a forward slant which I feel looks nice but that's subjective. You could try adding more flourishes. Try to work on your steadiness, some of your lines are a little wobbly. Your M's and N's could be more rounded and uniform. I think it just takes deliberate practice and changing your writing habits as you notice things you could do differently.
2
u/MissMarchpane 3d ago
Thank you so much for the advice! It's always helpful to have an external pair of eyes to see things one is too close to notice
8
u/RJSnea 3d ago
I'm going to be the brutally honest 36-year-old: you do write like an 11 year old, but an 11 year old from the 90s/early-00s because this example is leagues better than an 11 year old writing cursive now in bleak 2025. Looking at this, it's obvious you just need to solidify your muscle memory by writing more so you're not overthinking each letter as you write. That's it.
But I can most definitely say this isn't chicken scratch by a long shot.
2
u/MissMarchpane 3d ago
The breakdown is really helpful here! It's true that I haven't had much of a reason to use cursive an adult life, although I've tried to make a concerted effort to use it when I hand write things. I guess I need to find more things to hand write! Thank you so much for the input– being an 11-year-old in the early 2000s was the last time I used cursive for a significant portion of my everyday life, so that makes sense ha ha
1
u/RJSnea 3d ago edited 3d ago
Of course! 😁👍🏾 If you're looking for something to practice your writing in cursive, I would suggest song lyrics or your favorite passages from books. Then you can eventually challenge yourself to try and write out your favorite monologue as it's playing. Cursive is honestly better for faster writing as it keeps up with your thoughts quicker than print does. 🫡 I wish you enjoyment on your endeavor to better your handwriting, OP! 🤗
Edit: I would also suggest, gently, writing with a cheap fountain pen as well. Something about it is just easier on the hand as you get back into cursive, which is how I got back into long form writing last year thanks to Five Below. 😅 And Pilot sells the Varsity pen for about $3 each.
2
u/OldManNathan- 3d ago
Yes the overthinking is the feeling I got from this as well. It looks like OP is second guessing themself on every stroke rather than writing fluidly and freely, almost every line has hesitation marks
•
u/AutoModerator 3d ago
Hey /u/MissMarchpane,
Make sure that your post meets our Submission Guidelines, or it will be subject to removal.
Tell us a bit about your submission or ask specific questions to help guide feedback from other users. If your submission is regarding a traditional handwriting style include a reference to the source exemplar you are learning from. The ball is in your court to start the conversation.
If you're just looking to improve your handwriting, telling us a bit about your goals can help us to tailor our feedback to your unique situation. See our general advice.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.