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I've never had fantastic handwriting, but it's always been legible. I used to sign up to share my class notes with students who needed that in college and so on. I've always been envious of folks who had beautiful handwriting. Over the last 10 or so years of being more keyboard than notepad, plus time and inevitable wear and tear on the digits, it's deteriorated. Also, for some reason any occasion on which I'd like to send, you know, a *handwritten card" the ability to write in a pleasing manner gets up and runs screaming. Think Christmas card from a serial killer.

I'm thinking in this era there has got to be a way to improve my handwriting online or some sort of remoteness? Not looking to hire out for calligraphy as a side hustle, just would like to have pleasing to look at and legible handwriting. Suggestions?

I wish I knew! I used to have great penmanship, and now it's either terrible or barely possible, depending on how bad the arthritis is that day. I have found that doing some hand stretches and flexes from PT before I attempt writing helps.

I'm sure Domestika must have a course on this!

My maternal grandmother had beautiful penmanship, and 91 year old mom still has very nice cursive handwriting (she makes her own greeting cards for family and friends). Sadly, that trait was not passed down to me. I've noticed that both the writing surface (slick vs matte) and moreover, the pen I use can make a big difference in quality of my penmanship--go figure! All the while, battling the inevitable crunchy hands.

Interesting subject. My penmanship has never been great.

Quelah wrote: Think Christmas card from a serial killer.

Maybe try pasting cutout letters together - Christmas ransom notes!

I don't have any suggestions other than practicing. I also never had great writing, and it has really gone to hell now that I barely write any more. The gel pens do seem to make it a little easier. A few months ago I put up a white board next to my workspace to track my tasks, and oddly my writing is somewhat decent on that. Good to know I'm not alone.

My penmanship has always been pretty good. I don’t consider it great but I would call it on the upper end of the curve of neatness. I have found as I have gotten older, the pen makes a big difference. Some of those skinny little sticks are hard to hold onto. But the big fat ones are too big.
Yes…it has to be just right .

Susan

From age 6 on, my school insisted that we use a fountain pen with an italic nib for all our work. I'm left handed, so I was further saddled with a nib that had a 45 degree angle in it that was supposed to make it easier for lefties. It didn't.

There is nothing easy about using a fountain pen as a left handed person, especially as we weren't allowed to turn the paper. You drag your hand through wet ink unless you are really careful. I was in constant trouble for years about my messy work. (Now, bear in mind I'm an artist and have been all my life, so I know how to handle a pencil and paint brush.)

What a waste of energy and time that could have been spent learning something useful.

Don't get me wrong, I do think learning to hand write legibly and with flow is a most important skill. But not the way I had to do it.

I did a course in graphology in college. I had to do an elective and it was offered in the diet of pseudo science psychology realm. They claimed you could delete unfavorable personality traits by practicing correct handwriting. ( the theory being that if certain traits are reflected in handwriting, if you change your handwriting can you change those traits.

Anyway, a group of people were given cursive writing sheets and instructed in tracing them over and over for a number of weeks light on the up stroke, firm on the down stroke with equal loops and body and cap ends and tails and crossbars etc and not lifting the pen to the word is written.

So of course as part of the course we had to do so. Not calligraphy, simply cursive writing.

So I can say use a pencil, trace pages of each letter of the alphabet in cursive , then write words.

It's just practice and discipline and not rushing.

I can write well when I take the time to do so. I rarely take that time. My sister has always written beautifully even doing calligraphy. I do not write as well as she does. So the bar is high in our family. My DH scribbles.

I would suggest trying calligraphy. Such beautiful script

There are YouTube videos on improving your handwriting. Not calligraphy, just good penmanship.