My handwriting sucks

Undead Scottsman

So, my handwriting is exceptionally bad. To the point where I often can't even read it myself. I wanted to start a written journal for game ideas (any digial solution is just too clunky and akward for what I'm planning, as far as I know.) I know I need to practice but I figured I would ask on here and see if anyone else has gone through a similar thing, and if anything in particular helped them. (Be it a technique or a specific program) I was just going to write letters on a piece of paper over and over, but I'm hoping there's a more constructive way.

Iruka

There are lettering books for kids with issues with this, I know because my dyslexia made cursive the bane of my goddamn existence as a kid.

If you'd rather print, which is more common anyway, I'd look to see if any exist for that.

Anything will involve you drawing letters over and over again, though.

Forbe!

It is like anything else, practice will improve it. I started writing in my journal every day in college, and my cursive improved significantly. Which caused my printing to look much better. Forcing yourself to think critically about it, and spending the time to work on it will continue to help improve it. For me, I was overthinking when I wrote, going way too slow and getting frustrated when my writing wasn't beautiful.

EggyToast

They don't teach cursive in most schools anymore. It's dead. The only thing that will improve your writing is practice, and the best way to get started with any sort of practice is to stop rushing yourself. It sounds like you're trying to jot things down, rather than write nicely.

If you do want a more flowing hand, you could instead look into calligraphy. Which is about as slow as it gets, as far as getting started goes. As someone who got a D- in cursive writing in grade school, I weep no tears over the form, and am happy to print. I practiced at it, realized a hand that works well for how my brain wants to work, and spent a little time recognizing elements where my writing looked poor, and focused on those. For example, my 5's, S's, and G's all look the same to someone just glancing at my writing, so when I know I need to be read, I just emphasize their key elements more.

Fantasma

I used to complain of my handwriting, so I decided to start writing again, the extensive use of the keyboard caused my skills to go down the drain.

I own a fountain pen similar to this one:

http://www.amazon.com/X450-Kurve-Vanilla-Fountain-Bulow®/dp/B001D04KDE/ref=sr_1_5?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1359845167&sr=1-5&keywords=fountain+pen

The trick is to actually write and enjoy it, trying to be better everytime. Now, if you want to go deep, maybe this book can help:

http://www.amazon.com/Learn-Calligraphy-Complete-Lettering-Design/dp/0767907329/ref=pd_sbs_op_4

ihmmy

having a nice pen to practice with makes it a lot more enjoyable. The staples my area sells a type called 'optiflow' which I quite like for hand-writing with. it does, however, use a fairly heavy ink that makes the other sides of paper less useable if the paper is relatively light. Starting to journal, or take notes by hand at a meeting, or even just brainstorming stuff on paper instead of electronically will all help you get better. Going slow and focusing will also help you get better.