Handwriting: Is Italic the Answer?

We talked about ways to improve your handwriting–practice, muscle-control, patience–all that. But what if you simply need a whole, new style? Something different? Something that will be unlike the handwriting you’ve been using and that has fostered such bad habits?

Well, Italic Writing may be for you.

Of course, you might already write this way, and not have any idea what I’m talking about. It’s just … handwriting! But if you grew up learning to either “print” or write “cursive” or “script,” then chances are you do not write in italics. (And, no, I don’t mean the emphasized italics of font-faces used for titles and such–we’re talking more along the lines of calligraphy.) This style is popular among home-schoolers and I hear it’s popular in Britain (though I really couldn’t say for sure).

It’s a surprisingly practical way to write. It’s made up of single letters, like traditional printing, yet they can connect for speed like cursive letters. The difference is that the letters themselves are the same either way. Unlike calligraphy, it doesn’t require a special pen. It does look even better with a broad-tipped fountain pen, it’s true, but you can write in the italic style with a pencil.

Besides, it’s so darn pretty to look at.

Interested in a book? The series by Barbara Getty is hard to top. There are online sources to help you get started, too.

This is the fifth and final post in my series on handwriting. The first post, on the act of writing is here, and the second, on the personal touch, is here. The third, on bad handwriting, is here, and the post about ways to improve your handwriting is here.