have beautiful handwriting

How I did it: I've always had legible handwriting, but it was very plain and nondescript. I'm very perfectionistic in everything I do, and the way my handwriting looked two years ago was unacceptable to me.

So I started experimenting with different ways of writing each letter and of slanting my words (i.e. writing your letters where they all lean to the left, right, or stay upright). I looked at the handwriting of people I admired and started writing certain letters the way they wrote theirs. I scoured the web for various fonts and any time a letter looked particularly beautiful and unique, I incorporated it into my own handwriting.

At first my handwriting looked really awkward as I practiced new ways of writing letters, and some letters looked out of place. But inevitably within a few months I would get comfortable writing the letters in a new way, and the awkward appearance would leave the handwriting.

Now I have an extremely unique penmanship that has the added benefit of being beautiful, and no one who has seen my writing has failed to comment on the attractiveness of my script.

I should mention that saying it took me 2 years to have beautiful handwriting may be misleading: While it certainly took me two years to form a style of handwriting I am proud of, my handwriting started looking elegant within about 2 months of making changes. So by no means do I want anyone to think it has to take years to accomplish a goal like this.

Lessons & tips:

• Change the way you write letters themselves.
  
• Keep experimenting with different styles until you find one that suits you.
  
• Don't confine yourself to the formations of letters others have made; be creative and come up with unique forms (while maintaining legibility).
  
• Don't be discouraged if you make a change and your handwriting looks weird; if you stick to the change you'll get accustomed to writing that way and it will look completely natural.

Nov 14, 2008, 01:57AM PST | 3 comments | 2 cheers