Blogger: Wendy Lawton
If you’ve spent any time around me, you’ve undoubtedly seen me holding a marbled black Waterman Phineas fountain pen. I work better when it is in my hand. I think better when I’m holding it. Ideas flow on paper (good quality paper, I might add) when I put my pen to the task. I once took my pen to San Francisco to let my friend and client, Roger Huang, sign his contract with it and [horror] I inadvertently left it there. Roger graciously had it express mailed to me but I was lost for almost 48 hours.
I’ve been thinking about the art of handwriting lately. I’m teaching a three-session how-to workshop at church that involves spiritual journaling. We spent part of the first session talking about journals, pens and paper. The equipment needs that can nurture the soul. The act of gathering the tools is in itself an adventure. It was fun to watch a roomful of potential writers rediscover the pen.
None of us would want to give up our computers. They’ve offered so many shortcuts and such productive output, but when I look back to the writers in pre-computer days, even in pre-typewriter days, there is much to be said about the pen. Did you know that Charles Dickens always insisted on blue ink? Not an aesthetic preference, he believed blue ink dried fastest. I found that bit of trivia plus much more in the blog post for the book, Odd Type Writers by Celia Blue Johnson. Pop over there and see what a Dickens manuscript page looked like. Fascinating.
Over the years I’ve loved watching author Robert Benson autograph books. First he takes out his fountain pen and signs his name along with the word namasté, and then he brings out colored pencils to create a cipher on the page. The reader receiving his signature feels as if he has been given a gift.
What is it about handwriting? An article in Psychology Today states that, “When directing the writing by hand, the brain has to visually track rapidly changing positions of the pencil and control hand and finger movements. To learn such skills, the brain must improve its control over eye-movement saccades and the processing of visual feedback to provide corrective feedback. Both tracking and movement control require much more engagement of neural resources in producing cursive or related handwriting methods than in hand printing, because the movements are more complex and nuanced. Thus, learning cursive is a much greater neural activator, which in turn must engage much more neural circuitry than the less demanding printing.” Got that? Pen and ink and cursive writing engages the brain more effectively than printing. I’m going to take it one step further and
posit that it draws on different functions of the brain than keyboarding.
What does that have to do with us as writers? I’ve found that when I’m stuck or creatively stymied, taking out a sheet of paper and using my beloved Waterman pen to work out ideas taps into a different part of my creativity. I’ve been studying mind mapping as a technique and it relies heavily on the act of writing, even to writing in color. Studies have shown that it unleashes the mappers creativity and allows the practitioner to find new patterns and links–not a bad skill if you are a writer.
So as a pen and ink aficionado, I’m encouraging you to find the perfect writing implement (or if you are like me, implements) and rediscover the pen.
Question: Do you enjoy the old fashion skill of cursive writing? How about the relatively new field of mind mapping? What kind of writing implement is your choice?
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Once upon a time, I did. But an interesting incident that severed all the muscles on top of my right forearm put paid to that.
Thanks to a good reconstructive surgeon who happened to be in the hospital when I arrived (as a patient!), I can still pull a trigger, and still hold a welding torch, but the fine control needed for cursive writing is lost.
Can’t manipulate a smart phone or stylus, either.
Might have switched to my left hand, but that limb was a bit affronted when something it held went off before it was supposed to. Can’t quite close the hand, but it IS useful for waving away flies, of which the open range in New Mexico will have a superabundance, come summer.
What about mosquitoes? 🙂
Andrew, I wish you’d pen your testimony, fully. One day?
So Andrew, given the challenges you have, how do you engage your right brain– your artistic and creative side– when you are stuck?
Good question, Wendy.
I don’t really believe in the right brain-left brain dichotomy. It’s a unity, with, so to speak, both dough and chocolate chips making up the cookie.
I write, whether I feel like writing, or whether I don’t. it’s not really a matter of creativity. It’s simply a matter of doing.
Were this a Hallmark special, I would say that the things I write when I don’t want to write are sometimes imbued with a deeper truth…but it’s not the case, not always. Sometimes, yes. other times, it’s simply hack-work.
In the end, I suppose it comes down to the choice…do I want to continue telling this story, even with the bits that may be boring…or may be uncomfortable to write?
And, having taken the story so far…do I feel I have the privilege of quitting, for a season, or forever?
Does the story belong to me, to the characters, or to God?
And there, Wendy, is where I become ‘unstuck’. i don’t know whose story it is, not really, and I had best get on with it, however inept my work may be, and however unsatisfying to the artistic side of my soul.
Amen and amen, Andrew. Thanks for reminding us.
I keep two journals: one for my morning devotions and one to analyze my dreams. A couple times I’ve been separated from my journals and used my laptop instead. It changes the flow–your Psychology Today article’s “engagement of neural resources” gives credence to my findings. If, like Andrew, I couldn’t hold a pen, I’d learn to adapt. But a certain essence would go missing–it would be like losing the ability to smell the coming rain, I think.
Interestingly, while I used to value my penmanship quite highly…I was learning grass-hand calligraphy when my right hand went belly-up (now there’s a mixed metaphor)…I don’t think it’s really affected either style or content.
It may be that I have rather a dog-like way of adapting (ask any dog who’s lost a leg…they don’t CARE, and simply move on), or the physical insult was so great that the harder and needed adaptation was catered to by the Almighty behind the scenes, while I healed.
My wife would probably vote for the dog simile. Over the weekend I had a bit of trouble with severe pain, was hallucinating badly (when my eyes weren’t rolling toward the back of my skull), and apparently was under the impression that she was a Rottweiler.
Andrew, that answers my question from up above. You tap into your creative side by connecting with your dogs, right?
Shirlee. . . interesting. About your dream journal– Robert Benson (who I referenced in the blog once said in a talk something like, “When I first wake– long before I’m fully awake, I comb the beach of my dreams looking for the curious things that drifted in with the tide.”
Wendy, although I don’t write much in longhand any more (unless you count the occasional prescription and the all-too-frequent check), it did take me a while to find the perfect pen with which to sign books. After I found it, I bought a dozen, which should hold me for quite a while.
Thanks for sharing.
What’s your favorite pen, Richard?
You mention the occasional prescription– the question is, it is legible? My doctors’ handwriting is terrible. I’ve always wondered if physicians take a course in illegible writing. Is it a point of pride? A fraternity sort of thing?
I adore writing in cursive! My teachers insisted on beautiful handwriting when I was in school,and I have it, as a result. I homeschool my children, and I taught each of them to write in cursive as little ones. Alas, the boys have abandoned it for printing, but the girl carries on using it (I think because she likes the look of it). In any case, I’m heading to South America today and I won’t be bringing the computer with me. Instead, I purchased a beautiful blue notebook just for recording thoughts related to the trip. And I’m bringing the red notebook for fresh ideas pertaining to my WIP. I have a beautiful pen already packed. I’m ready to go. 🙂
Have a blessed time, Hannah. I know you will. I pray someone comes to know Jesus because of your willingness to go and share.
Hannah, I hope your trip to South America is wonderful, and that you have many opportunities to write (in cursive) all the fabulous ideas you’ll get!
Thanks!
Vaya con Dois hermana Hannah.
Dios te bendigo, y el equipe.
Gracias!
Oh, Hannah, you are definitely a kindred spirit. Bon voyage. Have a wonderful trip.
I hope you have more than one pen, just in case.
Wendy, I love writing in cursive. I, too, had a teacher who kept me after school in sixth grade until my penmanship became neat. Now, I take pride in having a legible signature and writing neatly in my journal, when I write there. And my sermon notes . . . and whatever I write.
I completely agree that cursive writing ideas out taps creativity. The times when I’ve hand-written a scene for my books, I’ve loved what came out.
I’ve worked hard to hold my boys to a readable level of cursive, but it’s hard to maintain. They’re into fast, and they don’t take much pride in their hand writing. Alas.
And, I love writing with colors. I’ve fallen for the colored, fine-tipped Sharpie pens. My implement of choice when taking notes, or journaling, or writing about anything. 🙂
I love Sharpies, Jeanne!
I’ve not explored color much but I do think that’s another dimension of creativity and I’m guessing it taps into a different part of the brain.
I still write in a journal when I’m working on a writing project. I try to keep it with me at all times because when the thoughts arise, I need to pen them down. When I flip through my two journal pages for this latest project, I have cursive and manuscript … pretty writing and sloppy writing … depending on the light, the time I wrote it … was I writing in the dark, trying not to wake anyone? Possibly! 🙂
I have noticed when I write something more lengthy, I don’t have the strength to write that I had before computers. My hand and arm grow weary quickly.
I have heard that handwriting is not taught in school anymore. Many kids have confirmed that. I’ve heard some say the hardest thing about the SAT is having to write their information down. They are so used to computers. Because I homeschool, my girls know manuscript and cursive. I wasn’t as hard on them regarding the form … because I noticed once I grew up, I developed my own cursive rules. I always combine a manuscript “S” with the remainder of my first name in cursive. It was just easier and quicker, I guess. And it’s been sweet to see my oldest develop her own beautiful style. She was just bragging a day or so ago about her “slant.” 🙂
Shelli, you brought back memories of elementary school for me. I remember my friends and I developing our own styles–changing the way we made capital Fs or capital Gs, for instance.
I’m often complimented on my handwriting. But I once asked my adult daughter to read something I had handwritten. She glanced at the page and handed it back. “I can’t,” she says. “Your writing gives me a headache.” 🙂
Oh, that’s funny, Johnnie! My mother has beautiful handwriting, too … and when she writes a letter to the girls, they can’t read it either. I can because I know her writing so well.
Yes … I remember making all the curlicues on capital letters … especially on our names. I never liked the capital S … and I was stuck with it! 🙂 That may be why I use a manuscript S today. 🙂
I can make a lovely “S,” but never quite nailed a capital “D.” Such a fun little topic for a dreary Tennessee morning.
Shelli, I too, struggle with the cursive S!
I loved learning cursive in school. I still remember the sample writing along the wall above the blackboard. (I know, that ages me. I understand that most schools no longer have blackboards– they have whiteboards and screens. Cleaning erasers is a thing of the past.)
My daughter who is a designer, musician, writer, (and now a mother) is lost without a drawerful of white Bic stick pens. When she was just a little girl, she would ask for a box of them for Christmas.
Sometime early on, having that pen in her hand meant “creative work”. The prolific author Candace Fleming says she does all her writing with wide-ruled loose leaf and a white Bic pen.
Me? Love a keyboard.
When someone says Bic, all I can think of is the pen that used to leave a big glob of ink on the paper. I’m surprised to have already seen two mentions of Bic so far. Maybe they have evolved.
I’m not at all picky about pens (though I’ve never been exposed to fountain pens and the like so perhaps I just don’t know what I’m missing). And while I need the computer to write (the hand is too slow), I do a lot of plotting and scene sketching on various scraps of paper that reside in intentionally placed stacks all over the house and in my purse and whatever book I happen to be reading. I agree there’s something that happens with pen and paper, at least in the plotting stage of a book, chapter, or scene, even a snatch of conversation, that’s missing at the keyboard. It does feel as though a different part of the brain is engaged.
As for handwriting styles, mine has devolved these days into something midway between cursive and print. It’s not pretty. I can DO reasonably pretty though, when it comes to signing a book.
Lori, I think Jeanne and I have talked about how we end up with ideas scribbled on sermon notes … whatever we have before us. 🙂
The bits and pieces method of ideas and notes has been used by many a famous author. It works because you can move these ideas or scene sketches around.
Being an artist, I’m surprised you are not a pen aficionado, Lori. For you, it’s your brushes that spur right brain creativity, then, right?
Yes, I was always more of a painter though a pencil probably does for me what a pen does for you. My penmanship was never pretty so I never pursued calligraphy. I’ve wondered whether my penmanship suffered because of the way I hold a pen/pencil. I always knew there was something a little off about my grip, but not until a college prof asked me how old I was when I started school and I said four, and she said, that explains why you hold your pen like you do, did I get a possible explanation. My motor skills weren’t up to the challenge at four, apparently, so I adapted by tucking my thumb around the pencil, under my index finger (instead of the index finger and thumb tips meeting above the pencil’s point). I still squeeze a pen or pencil in a death grip when I write.
I used to make my own cards, and therefore, had more pens than I have freckles. I’ve done a bit of calligraphy here and there, as well, and have all the pens needed for that.
Due to the arthralgia in my hands(similar to arthritis, but very little swelling), I save any actual writing for spontaneous notes, or travel journals, of which I have MANY. Mostly because I NEED a pretty new journal each time I leave town.
I do love my calligraphy pens for sending, eeeek, store bought cards. And there is just no way I could write an MS long hand. As Lori said, it’s too slow, and the pain would be unbearable.
I also learned calligraphy and have those pens. What I longed to study was Spencerian Script. When I get to heaven and have an infinite amount of time (more years than you have freckles) I’m going to learn Spencerian script and the art of all manner of illuminated manuscripts and I’m going to spend time in a scriptorium just copying the scriptures.
My grandfather, who went to school in the 1870s and ’80s, used to brag about having a “fine Spencerian hand.” Was that a line from Gilbert and Sullivan?
Is it silly to admit I’ve been practicing my autograph since I was 15 in hopes I can one day have that first moment when I sign my first book? I think I have narrowed my favorite pen down to a fine point Sharpie.
I wish I’d been doing that! Somehow I thought a cool autograph would come with the book deal. I determined to “pretty up” my signature until I was asked to sign multiple books at ICRS. At that point I concluded it was too late! Keep practicing–I’m betting you’ll be signing that first book ere long . . .
I don’t think it’s silly at all. It’s part of that dreaming big we talk about.
I spent years signing dolls. Those first few thousand signatures were careful and legible but as the years went on and the lines got longer my signature devolved. My collectors claim they can tell what year I signed their doll by my penmanship. In the later years it became more stylized.
I have a mind always trying to improve, so I learned at an early age to write with pencil — much tidier after all those changes! When the first word processing programs came out, I marveled at God’s ability to answer prayers. Same when laptops were invented. Now, smartphones with their notepads.
I hear what you’re saying, but I’ve come to feel about an electronic (rewritable) instrument like you feel about your fountain pen. You wouldn’t want to see even this comment if it were written by pen! 🙂
I understand this, William. I also treasure my computer, my iPad and my amazing new iPhone 6 Plus. I’d like to play with an electronic stylus. I believe that when we step away from screens, however, a different side of our brain engages. I could be wrong.
Yes! I’m so glad psychology confirms what I knew to be true (for myself at least). I feel hopelessly old-fashioned and stodgy when I pull out pen & paper to take notes at a conference, to fill out character and plot charts, to scribble scene sketches, or to doodle diagrams and charts to wrestle my plot into submission.
“There are programs that do that,” my techie friends remind me. Yes, there are. But the creative part of my brain is unleashed through pen & paper.
Sadly, for me, my pen o’ choice is the plain blue Bic stick pens I buy in bulk at Costco. Because my dog eats pens.
Sarah, Yes. I don’t use a program for anything, including bookkeeping, if I can avoid it. I need to keep story-weaving in my head or on pieces of paper I can see littering my desk or living in roughly organized piles. Putting it on the computer is putting it out of mind for me. It’s why I prefer my research to live in books (heavily highlighted and sticky-noted) on my shelves rather than bookmarked online. I don’t do digital story-weaving well at all. The only thing I can manage to keep online and not forget about it is the actual WIP, which I look at daily so it would be rather alarming if I managed to forget that. 🙂
Sarah, I love the clear, blank ink Bic pens. The ink is so smooth. Bic is good! 🙂
I’m with you and Lori! Once notes are in a document on my computer it’s like they cease to exist. If I have anything typed I plan to reference I have to at least print it out and hold it.
Sarah Thomas, I wonder if kids growing up with computers now have the same problem remembering the existence of digitally stored material, or it’s just us 60s, 70s, and 80s youngsters with the issue?
Exactly!! I think brain says, “It’s safe now. You can forget it.” But the act of handwriting actually inscribes it in my brain. Fascinating.
Goodness! Is canine Bic belly serious?
I keep playing with online systems for everything and I go back to paper and pen all the time. (Says the person who is expecting a package from Levenger today.)
Yes. She’s a yellow lab. I saw a meme that said, “Labs: hearts of gold, heads of wood, stomachs of iron.” It’s true. Daisy has eaten pens, wooden spoons, two pairs of prescription eyeglasses, my son’s retainer, and 8 Cadbury eggs in one sitting. She never even gets sick. Though after the Cadbury egg incident, I admit to wishing illness on her…
I always take handwritten notes at conferences because I’m a visual/kinesthetic learner and I remember things better if I write them.
I was born in the 60’s, so naturally I grew up using the pen for everything and I honestly miss it. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the last time I saw something handwritten. Even Christmas card messages are being typed on computers. For myself, receiving something written in pen would mean so much more but I also love the convenience and ease of computers.
If I feel my creativity lacking, I usually pull out a favorite book or watch a really stirring drama. Just reading the words of a gifted author or watching a talented actor recite a serious scene makes my mind open up.
Writing in color is an interesting idea. I’m always open to new methods of developing creativity. Thank you for sharing the post!
You are right about reading or film as creativity prompts. It also works for me.
Wendy, this post tickles my creative sweet spot. Yes, I still write using a gold Cross pen (complete with a velvet pouch) that my husband gave me years ago (the refills are worth every penny). I love to journal in my spiral bound books by noting a special Scripture, my thoughts, and a short poem. I write using a blend of cursive, printing, and calligraphy. My morning reading time is incomplete without engaging in this soul satisfying art.
I look forward to checking out the links you included. It was nice to hear that you got your special pen back. Mine never leaves the house.
Blessings ~ Wendy Mac ❀
A husband who gives you a pen to treasure. . . sigh. That’s someone who knows you by heart.
While the mere thought of writing an entire novel longhand makes me twitch, I do really enjoy sitting down with a good pen and paper to write a letter on occasion. And I much prefer to write poetry out by hand, getting a piece 90% done before seeing how it looks in word processing. LOVE that writing is good for the brain.
Sarah, I’m reading Miracle in a Dry Season … I’m so impressed. You’re writing is so unique and beautiful.
Thank you for saying so!
I agree, Shelli. Isn’t it exciting to find a beautiful new voice?
Yes, Wendy. I find myself sounding (in my head, reading silently) more country than I normally do. I’d love to hear Sarah read it!
It’s been a while since I’ve written a letter but I owe one and need to put pen to paper. Handwritten letters are going to become rare treasures. I mourn that so many of our words are delivered on text which disappears into the ether. I treasure the letters I have from my mother and long gone friends and relatives. A legacy that lives on long after we are gone.
As Victoria magazine’s writer-in-residence Phyllis Theroux says, “To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart.”
I’ve been keeping a daily journal for decades. I alternate between cursive and print each day just for the exercise.
I’m also an artist, and even though I use Corel’s Paint and a Wacom tablet, I still make marks on paper and board with all sorts of media. There is nothing more fun than going into a good art supply store and playing with all the pens, pencils, pastels, etc. The displays always have small pads attached so you can try out the products.
Cursive writing takes the same eye-hand coordination as drawing. When you write in cursive, you’re using both sides of your brain. That most schools don’t teach it any more is a crime, in my opinion.
I agree with you, Elissa. Schools have by and large systematically removed every portion of learning that enriches the artistically inclined children– art, music, cursive, etc. It breaks my heart. If I were in school now I would wither each day.
Wendy, you don’t know it yet, but I mentioned you (not by name) in the book Tattered and Mended: The Art of Healing the Wounded Soul, in reference to the “tool” of journaling in healing, and the rhythm of beautiful writing as an art form.
Yes, you’ve made an impression!
*Blush*
Your take on this concept is so elegant, Wendy. I love the way it infuses you with calm and creativity.
When I began to journal at the age of 12 I used pens in rainbow color order depending on the day. My handwriting changed as I matured. Journaling daily for ten years represented a timeline of sorts. Even the pressure of my writing on the page gave insight into my mood at that moment. I still find delight in transferring words from my brain to the page, especially during painful moments of life. The ache tends to unravel along with the swish of my pen across the paper.
One other fun thing to mention is the art of handwriting analysis. I used to prod my friends to write a few sentences, and then I’d pull out my handy dandy analysis book and expound on their personality. 🙂
I love this: “The ache tends to unravel along with the swish of my pen across the paper.” And the idea of pressure on the paper is another interesting dimension.
And handwriting analysis– I wonder if people realize when they only use electronic communication that they have given up another of the fingerprints of our uniqueness.
What a fun post.
I’ve been rather sad to see the art of cursive dying out…I work as a tutor in a community college writing center, and I’ve learned I have to print my tutoring notes for the students. If I write them in cursive, many students can’t read them. And it’s rare to see a student write in cursive. 🙁
As for computer vs. handwriting–I do most of my writing, including outlining and now character charts, on computer. But there are certain things–especially interviewing my characters to find out deeper things about them and start to grasp their individual voices and mannerisms–that have to be by hand. And certain brainstorming and just jotting down ideas sometimes works better by hand too. I don’t care too much about pens, but pencils I do–it really bugs me if a pencil isn’t nicely sharpened, writes smoothly, not scratchily, and doesn’t have a nice, smooth, big enough, non-smearing eraser. 🙂
For a while I didn’t realize that the modern student can’t read handwriting. What a wealth of first person history is forever closed to them!
I always address my envelopes in cursive. My postal people always sigh if I hand them over the counter. (Good thing we live in a small town and they know me.) Did you know we are supposed to print?
And yes about pencils. Sharp long pencils. And what’s with these new plastic erasers that not only don’t erase but smear and tear the paper. Give me a good pencil top eraser or a big gum eraser.
Yes, and the pencils that aren’t made of real wood … when you sharpen them, part of the fake wood remains attached to the lead. Gr. Throw it away.
I was homeschooled for several years, which allowed my mother to concentrate extra time on the scholastic areas where we struggled. Handwriting was one of them. Oh the many hours spent on “tidy writing”. It never worked. So nope. I do not like writing in cursive or reading in cursive. I appreciate the feel of a really nice pen and paper in my hands, love that. But math and cursive are my nemesi or maybe nemesises
Interesting. We ought to sit you down with Jenni Brummett’s handwriting analysis and see what your “non-tidy” handwriting says about you. Maybe you are bigger than life. Can’t be contained. 🙂
That would be fun!
The fun thing was, after all of those hours upon hours of work, looking back at some of my dad’s sermon and school notes on the anniversary of his death. My writing was exactly like his! And now I kind of hold that dear to my heart. I am like him, not tidy or pretty in the way I form letters, but unique.
The only reason I didn’t get “F”s in handwriting in grammar school is that the teachers knew I was trying hard. And, in spite of taking typing classes in high school and college it’s faster for me to do hunt and peck typing. My handwriting is still terrible (I often print instead) but I always have a pen around my neck so I can write down ideas that occur to me. I have about a dozen neck pens in different colors to go with my clothes.
I used to have a cute pen holder I’d wear around my neck for my writing implement at trade shows. Isn’t it nice to have one always at hand?
Hi Wendy — I’ve enjoyed reading the comments today.
So now I have a dilemma … will I stop addressing my envelopes in cursive? Probably not! 😉
And you aren’t the only one who remembers chalk boards and erasers. In my school, it was an honor to be selected to “clap the erasers” at the end of the day. I can still taste that chalk dust!
I vote for Bic pens, medium point… and #2 pencils…and I have a Pink Pearl eraser resting in the tray under my monitor!
And can’t you remember teachers with chalk dust on their suits? Yep, suits.
Oh, I’m entirely inflexible when it comes to my pen. My true-pen-love for more than 10 years? The Pentel R.S.V.P medium in black ink. Whenever I see them I buy a purse full because stores don’t often carry them and I fear they may disappear forever. No other pen works so perfectly with my hand.
The only dictionary in my childhood home in the 1960s was a musty thing that included a plate of the Spencerian alphabet which was taught in our nation’s first schools. From that tiny plate I taught myself to master it, curving and slanting each letter just so. After high school I used calligraphy to create greeting cards and wedding invitations.
I don’t understand the science of it, but I’m convinced it does matter how words appear on paper. There’s an order to handwriting that satisfies my creative soul. My journaling would be flat and nearly lifeless without my personal touch in the arrangement of the letters on the page.
It’s funny, but I agree with you Wendy, about having a pen with me always. It’s one of my basic needs that I carry in my shoulder purse. Actually, I carry two pens. There has to be back-up, ya know.
I love this: “i don’t understand the science of it, but I’m convinced it does matter how words appear on paper.”
I love pens! I have a collection of pens at the bottom of my purse, in my kitchen, and beside my bed. I have journaled prayers and thoughts since I was in fourth grade. Now that I am writing stories, I find that writing first in notebooks is what comes naturally.
I love the cursive letters on the page that change in appearance slightly depending on my mood or pace. It is the most relaxing thing! How wonderful that it’s good for my brain too! Thanks Wendy!
I definitely have a favorite pen and am at a loss when it goes AWOL. However, I only use it for short notes and then I usually print – because I have trouble reading my cursive handwriting. Even when I am the most careful, my handwriting is still often hard to decipher. And the more I use the computer the worse it gets. So I admire people with neat, even artistic, handwriting.
I always loved cursive writing, but had trouble with capital H’s. In the days before I got married and changed my name, I wrote pages and pages of H’s so I could have a nice signature.
Our county no longer teaches cursive. That makes no sense to me. We will be having kids enter college who can’t sign their names in cursive? I am teaching my children at home.
I know this is late but I just had to comment. I seem to be in agreement with Wendy, Lori and Sarah.
I am a pen girl-so much so that I have to go buy my perfect pens or I am miserable. Recently my favorites were off market and I was really frustrated. They just came back on with fatter sides and I am bummed but still hooked. Why do they thing we all want fat pens?
I write the book by pen and illegible to most humans. And there is alas no one to put it into the computer for my typing is as atrocious. So I plug along putting it in and like the girls mentioned…there is this dead space that says, “Why did you put me in here. It is so…linear…so editrocious (my own word).”
My pen has to flow and have dual duty to doodle along the way.