Atrocious handwriting! Has anyone managed to improve theirs?

[Whatthediddlyfeck]

My hand writing has never been beautiful but has always been at least legible…until the past year or so. Now I feel that my hands don’t know how to form letters, or if my head knows, the message doesn’t get through to my fingers.
like most people these days my job involves very little writing but a lot of typing so I’m way out of practice.I’ve always had really good manual dexterity, some a lot of fiddly crafty things, but my hands just don’t seem to know what to do any more! No pain or obvious stiffness, but they just don’t know what to do!
Has anyone else who’s experienced this been able to make an improvement? Is it just practice and writing stuff over and over? I don’t feel I can write more than 2 Christmas cards legibly!

I had terrible hand writing as a child and teens and early 20s and I was always berated for it. I do think partially a product of 80s education.

My gcse exercise books show a I adopted a clear print style for legibility but obviously it wasn't fluid. Writing my name in degree text books it still looks fairly immature and wobbly m, like a regression from gcse.

Then I practised and practised snd practised and now have a beautiful cursive script and a beautiful print. I just wrote over and over again alphabet of fruit, names, poem.

My pen rests in my ring finger rather than the middle one.

I'm a teacher at secondary and I'll never have a "primary school teacher" style writing but it's clear and legible. I can now model writing and essays using a visualiser.

I can't write quick notes quickly and neatly though. I have practised modern calligraphy and like doing that and it helps with letter shapes.

My pen rests in my ring finger rather than the middle one.

Claw of pain, I know you well.

I’m a note taker and take notes by hand (my laptop is used for PowerPoints etc but I’m a quick typist as well). My tip would be to use a decent pen - not a ballpoint. They aren’t cheap but I use either a uni-ball pen or a disposable fountain pen - somehow they make me write neater. Important as I need to be able to read my own notes back to be able to type them up!

Pens are important. I like the zebra one for every day the flight are nice and junk and smooth but the z grip ones are cheap and good

The BIC Atlantis is elite but quite a thick line. Good for cards though.

@FurryDandelionSeekingMissile ah yes a fellow victim.

Pain right up arm

My handwriting is childish. I really hate it. The more I try to improve it, the more shaky and immature it looks.

Yep. Luckily, although I didn't have the muscle control to do a tripod grip as a child (and not for want of trying — the pencil would just skate about uncontrollably), I found it surprisingly easy to relearn my pen grip as an adult.

I do occasionally still automatically pick up and use a pen the old way, and in aforementioned 6-hour university exams, I would alternate between tripod and ring-finger grips, as my fingers do tire and hurt from the tripod grip after a while, but it's still far better than the hand/wrist/arm pain I had during school exams.

Another with awful handwriting. It was never great and I have dyspraxia so I've always blamed that. My writing is not even legible to me, I just relied on my memory if I minuted meetings. So long as I did the minutes the same day as the meeting I remembered it.
If I had to leave the typing up until the day after I was screwed.

May give practising a go, but how long does it take to improve?

I was a child of the 60s and 70s. I learnt to write with a fountain pen. On my first day at middle school we were told that copper plate writing was expected. Every morning during registration we were give sheets of hand writing exercises to copy. Rows and rows of the same letters all joined together to form a pattern.
After 4 years of this we all had very good handwriting.
I still write in basically the same way, with a few variations. It's interesting to see how my school friends have adapted their writing. However, we all still write in recognisably copper plate style.
My advice to anyone wanting to write quickly is to use a propelling pencil. It's quicker and you don't have to stop to keep sharpening them.

I've dropped Christmas/birthday present hints for several years now about those propelling pencils that rotate the lead slightly each time you lift them off the page, to no avail.

I second the advice to use a propelling pencil. They are a pleasure to write with as the tip runs smoothly across the paper.

At the school I went to biros were not allowed and we had to use ink pens. Handwriting practice was a regular thing and no frivolities, such as a little circle instead of a dot, were allowed either. If your handwriting wasn't up to scratch you had to practice until it was. I developed a style that is legible and quite attractive and I enjoy using it.

Just keep up the practice, it'll come in the end.

I hated writing with a (mandated) fountain pen at school. Turns out I hold the pen quite vertically, which is bad for the nib. Bullpens do skate about a bit. I love a fibre tip to be honest, like a fine Sharpie. Handwriting is fine if slow for cards and things. If I have to take notes at speed it looks like a drunken spider went for a swim in the ink pot then staggered across the page.

@TheFeistyFeminist I have to admit I like what a fountain pen does for my writing and have often thought this might help, I may dog one out for practicing

Please research your own health! My hypothyroidism has ruined my life, it affects every aspect of it even with medication. You'll feel so much better taking medication properly.

I’m sorry it’s had this effect on you. Don’t worry I’ve taken this as a very well deserved kick up the backside! I’ve been on thyroxine for over 20 years with no issues and I’ve no idea why I’ve been so lax over the past year!

There are many factors that can influence adult handwriting performance. As correctly mentioned by someone thyroid issues can, in some cases, affect handwriting.

@Handwritingsupport , I’m being properly discipline with my meds and I’ll see if that starts to make a difference, then it’s going to be practice practice practice I think!

Mine was awful as a child and is awful now. Didn't matter how many handwriting books I was given, the best it's ever reached is just a bit less shit. I'm happy to blame it on being left handed. Now my niblings can read, I have to really concentrate if I send them a card, so they can read it themselves!

Mine has always been dreadful, I was also forced to use my right (wrong) hand to write at school.

Very few people now have been taught how to hold a pen or pencil correctly. My granddaughter has poor handwriting and holds her pen in a most peculiar way.

I have lovely handwriting but I think that's only because I write all day every day for my job!

Mine's appalling and getting worse and I never thought to link it to my low thyroid.

I agree the right pen makes a big difference. A fine nib makes a difference ti me.I do also love stationary though it's wasted on me.

Would anyone be kind enough to link to a rotating mechanical pencils?

I think you should see a GP I don’t want to give my personal circumstances publicly but I will DM you.

Writing examples before and after

@Chabal , Thank you for the message I really appreciate it