My DS6 is preparing for 7+ in Jan (I know, don't go there). He is considered v bright but due to hypermobility and poor motor skills generally, his handwriting is dreadful. His school are being really great and he is definitely improving loads. However, they do say that 7+ round here (SE London) is so competitive that poor handwriting, even where the content is good, may mean he doesn't do well in his assessment.
To give him more practice, they've given him a "special task" of copying a few lines of a book of his choice - can be anything he likes- in his best handwriting. Copying is so he doesn't have to worry about content but can focus on style. His offerings are celebrated at school, headteacher praises him etc. Trouble is that getting him to do it is agony. Cries, shouts, says he hates it etc. Takes about 20 minutes to get a line of text out of him. He does get ordinary homework to do as well - not loads but by the time he's done that and his spellings and his reading plus a day at school, he is tired.
Today, I tried racing him - he copied a poem and I copied a (longer) poem. Idea is to try to write neatly and fast. Definitely less fuss but writing was pretty rubbish. Then I wrote a line of text and he traced over it - to imbed muscle memory. So far so good but I can't do that every day. Any other bright ideas for livening up a writing task? Sorry this turned out so long!!