Handwriting

[BT04]

As a Linguist I think you make a very good point here. Specifically, that the medium you use to construe your ideas can affect the way you structure those ideas - look at Twitter compared with an academic essay, for example. Applied to the point made by the OP, a change in the nature of grapheme form suggests a change in attitude toward your writing, and, since writing is essentially a relational behaviour, a change in disposition toward your audience as well. 

Interesting! My grandmother has been a hobbyist handwriting analyst for probably a decade now; she believes you can see the details of someone's personality through their writing... but only if it's script and not printed lol. Apparently if you write in all caps, you're hiding something. Last time I saw her she was talking to someone else about it, then abruptly turned to me, shook her head and went "You write in caps! What in the world are you hiding!"

I shrugged. "Nothing," I deadpanned. Nothing, of course, except... for the fact that I'm a closeted trans dude, a heavy sadomasochist, an objectum sexual, non-monogamous, a hard collapsenik, a...



I have heard from teachers that their students put together much more cohesive essays when they've asked them to hand write them instead of type, too.

Fascinating stuff.

[Kylo]

I'm an artist by trade, typically I write in a way that pleases me aesthetically. I'm not someone with "scruffy writing", but that also backfired when I developed a cursive style that felt nice to write but took longer to read than a bunch of capitals. When I stopped needing to write for school, where they teach fast cursive, I spent another 12 years on and off in some form of academia so I needed to write fast for note taking, and ended up using my own shorthand... but the issue with my shorthand for me is if I spend any time away from it it becomes harder to read when you go back to it. If I go back to my old notes now it looks like Arabic to me.

Caps have been better since being an artist and not needing to spend so much time writing by hand. A bad thing, tbh. Going back to writing now after years with a keyboard makes me feel like I've lost some aptitude for it. I hate becoming worse at anything.

Most mens' writing I see looks tiny, spidery and/or half legible. Most women's writing I see is too big and takes up too much space and ink.   

[KathyLauren]

Interesting! My grandmother has been a hobbyist handwriting analyst for probably a decade now; she believes you can see the details of someone's personality through their writing... but only if it's script and not printed lol.

I think there's a lot of truth to that.  Years ago, CBC had a show called "Beyond Reason", where a bunch of experts in various fields would try to guess the identity of a mystery guest, based on clues appropriate to their specialty.  The astrologer never even came close.  The palmist didn't do too well either.  Same for various other specialties, except the handwriting analyst.  She might not always get the guest's name, but she usually did identify a lot of accurate information about the person from their handwriting.

[amydane]

Interesting! My grandmother has been a hobbyist handwriting analyst for probably a decade now; she believes you can see the details of someone's personality through their writing... but only if it's script and not printed lol. Apparently if you write in all caps, you're hiding something. Last time I saw her she was talking to someone else about it, then abruptly turned to me, shook her head and went "You write in caps! What in the world are you hiding!"

I shrugged. "Nothing," I deadpanned. Nothing, of course, except... for the fact that I'm a closeted trans dude, a heavy sadomasochist, an objectum sexual, non-monogamous, a hard collapsenik, a...

[emoji14]

I have heard from teachers that their students put together much more cohesive essays when they've asked them to hand write them instead of type, too.

Fascinating stuff.

Lol! Your Grandma nailed it. I've heard of handwriting analysts. I wonder how accurate they might be. I also used to write in all Caps.

I bet most people are hiding something though, maybe not as big as gender issues, but I bet there's usually something.

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[amydane]

As an artist and a writer, longhand writing is really important to my creative process. I've noticed that if I spend too much time typing everything, my thinking gets sloppier. There's something that happens to the brain when you use word processors to the detriment of longhand - basically, you confuse the writing and editing processes and this creates subtle friction between the hemispheres as they both try to do their job at the same time. This often leads to writers' block, crummy sentence structure, poorer logic (if you're writing something persuasive rather than purely creative), and muddier, weaker writing all around. When I found that out, I made sure to start taking pen to paper more... and I've noticed a marked difference after a while.

To that end, I'll probably have to give up my all-caps print script. Cursive is way more efficient! And for those of you who hate writing by hand because the writing utensils are terrible, I got two words for you: fountain pens. They are an absolute JOY to work with, and I can't imagine going back to ballpoint pens or even pencils after using something as buttery and tactilely pleasurable as a Kaweco pen.

I will have to try writing more with pen and less with computer to see if that helps with the creative process and sentence structure.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to hand write genuine thank you notes, or gratitude notes to family and friends. I guess it will be my way of showing that I love them. There has always been something more special when I've received a handwritten note.

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[Ryuichi13]

*snip*

And for those of you who hate writing by hand because the writing utensils are terrible, I got two words for you: fountain pens. They are an absolute JOY to work with, and I can't imagine going back to ballpoint pens or even pencils after using something as buttery and tactilely pleasurable as a Kaweco pen.

Glad to see I'm not the only one here that uses fountain pens!

My everyday handwriting is craptastic, always has been.  Even I have difficulty reading it at times nowadays.  But when I was working, I became really proficient at writing legibally  while in the back of a moving ambulance  (I'm a disabled Paramedic.)  When I try, my handwriting looks the same sitting at a table or bumping down the road at 60mph with a patient in the back of my squad.

My cursive has loops and swirls, but since the only thing I write in cursive anymore is my signature, it doesn't matter.  From what I've been told, many men have similar loops and swirls in their signatures.  Its supposed to mean self-confidence or something along those lines.

I'm still getting used to signing my new legal name, even after more than a year. [emoji17]

Ryuichi

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