It is never too late to develop good handwriting skills. Today’s adults pay little attention to their handwriting since there a few instances that require one to hand write. Once in a while, however, circumstances require a handwritten note and only then do people realize that they have problems with writing. It is then time to find tips on how adults can improve their handwriting.

Good handwriting skills are learnt in childhood by developing eye to hand coordination, good posture, good hand positioning, and fine motor skills. Handwriting then becomes an action that requires little or no thought. If bad habits are fostered in childhood, they become engrained and hard to break in adulthood. Improving handwriting skills as an adult means increasing the legibility of writing, increasing writing fluency and speed, developing ergonomic writing and finally learning how to grasp the pen properly.

Practice makes perfect

One of the simplest ways to break bad handwriting habits is to repetitively practice writing with good writing habits. This requires purchasing handwriting books, or taking a handwriting course. Some adults are unwilling to make that required commitment; it makes sense to find tips that can improve writing skills while going about daily writing schedule.

The physical aspect of holding the pen wrong can lead to injuries. Holding the pen in a “death grip” can influence the way handwriting looks. People who hold their pen tightly tend to have writing that is small and printed. This writing style is choppy, inefficient and can be time consuming. Consider adapting the cursive writing style that is smoother and requires fewer hand movements to write.

The death grip writing posture can lead to stress in the wrist. Another way to prevent wrist injury is not to write while laying the wrist on the table. This action causes the writer to stretch their wrist and to overuse their fingers, which affects the handwriting. Relaxing the wrist and forearm, and use them to control the pens motion for more fluent writing.

Choosing the right writing tools

The right tool can influence the fluency of the handwriting. Ink pens and ballpoint pens all have different ink flows. A fountain pen, a fine line marker and roller ballpoint pens have ink that flows smoothly and they do not require pressure for the ink to flow. A pen should feel comfortable in the hand; it should be the right size. Grippers or writing tubing can be added to small pens to increase their size. Pen grips and finger dots also help reduce the force used to hold onto to the writing tool.

Position paper for easy writing

Keep the writing paper close and within reach to avoid any awkward maneuvering of the wrists and elbow to write. A writing platform can improve accessibility to writing materials and can keeping the wrist off the writing surface. A writing platform forces the writer into an upright position.

Special handwriting tips for left hand writers

By holding the writing device further up, smearing can be avoided. This also allows the writer to better see what is being written. Keeping the wrist straight and not curved or hooked can prevent any potential physical problems to the wrist. Keep the writing hand below the writing line.