Calligraphy. You can do all that over thinking while you are learning a new script then repeat each letter literally a few thousand times. After that it is just muscle memory.
this post was submitted on 14 Nov 2025
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Some people have a more steady hand than others. Like I can do professional sign lettering, but it is super difficult and slow for me to do because I do not have very steady hands.
I can paint stuff like candies (dye based paints that get infinitely darker with overlapping), and pearls, that are both shot basically blind by intuition and muscle memory, but I cannot see hand written lettering and what I want to project onto the page, in advance of actually drawing it. I'm more like a bushwhacker with a machete most of the time.
That's what calligraphy is for. You start unsteady and after a few pages your strokes get better and better. You keep doing that until your hand just flows. Some people first acquire precision then speed and others (me included) first go for speed and steadiness and then acquire the precision.
And after that keep writing by hand. It is hard to visualise something you don't do often enough.
I tend not to think too much about my handwriting, but that's not what you're asking. However, let me just address that "I tend not to think too much..." bit.
Many people, including myself, don't think about their handwriting past a certain point (having their own style, being happy about how it looked, or have stopped caring about how it looked), or when it doesn't really matter (making a quick note, for example). The focus is more about what is being communicated, and how legible it needs to be to serve the purpose.
Now, to answer your questions. I am assuming something closer to calligraphy, as this is the mode that I think is closest to what you're asking about.
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How are you focused mentally?
When I think it matters, I focus on the act itself. Writing in this mode takes a certain amount focus, and lack of focus can manifest in uneven strokes or movements that result in, when writing in cursive, strokes that don't belong. However, too much focus can result in the same, uneven strokes or worse, characters that look uneven. Keeping a good balance between focus and confidence and spontaneity yields the best results.
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Do you think about other things at the same time?
No, my focus on this mode is total.
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Are you focused on the lines, the imaginary half line, the staring points, the previous letter alignment, spacing, what comes next, what will fit on the line, the artistic expression of style, or simply the pure minimal effort required to communicate written thought?
On this mode, the focus is on the composition not just of the letter, but also the line, and also the entire snippet or piece of writing. How the letter would look in relation with the others, how the word looks in relation to the line, how the line would look in relation to the entire thing.
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Do you often find yourself bored and evolving or changing your style of writing as an outlet of secondary creativity along with whatever task is at hand?
I used to change my handwriting style, but now it has coalesced into a few: cursive and print. And for print, one is "all caps" and the other has lowercase. My default is now "all caps" print, but sometimes I switch to cursive. The print with lowercase is the rarest, and takes the most focus for me.
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Are you concerned with the impact your writing style has upon others, or are you only concerned with the expansion of your own short/long term memory and usefulness?
For cursive, I don't tend to worry about legibility, as it's mostly used for notes for my own consumption. For cursive, the only concern is if it's legible for myself. When I use print, I tend to believe it's generally legible enough (coming from my training in technical drafting), so it's not really a concern.
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Are you aware of the loose correlation between intellect and handwriting? What does that mean to you personally.
No, I am not aware of that connection. I believe anyone can learn how to write legibly, given enough training and practice. Maybe the capacity for practice is the connection to intellect, but I think it's more connected to the capacity for discipline than anything else.
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Are the ergonomics a point of conscious focus?
Ergonomics is a consideration before the act, not during, so no. Keeping the proper posture is a consideration during the act, but at this point, I consider it a given. Once I made sure the writing surface is stable enough, and I can maintain a good posture throughout the act, I just try to maintain it throughout the act.
Drawing my own handwriting? You mean writing? I'm not sure what the question is
I dunno I think about what I was suppose to write down?
Trying to understand the question, I'll try my best.
I don't really write except for out of necessity at work, maybe taking occasional notes, and writing my meal plans and grocery lists. Most of that is not by hand except for the meal plans on a whiteboard on the fridge.
My mind says what I want to write, slowly enough for my hand to keep up. If I'm typing on a keyboard then it's closer to a natural speaking speed. My mind doesn't really wander because I'm either too focused on the physical handwriting, or whizzing through typing up an email.
I don't really pay attention to how it looks in the moment, but always notice when I'm done writing by hand that it looks almost exactly like it did when I was 5 years old and first learned to write. Bonus if a few letters or words turned out looking accidentally more adult-written, but it's a fluke. I do pay attention when typing and catch typos in real time, then correct them when I'm done the sentence.
Writing isn't my outlet. I have other things for that.
Ergonomics aren't usually a thought unless I was writing something long by hand, which is rare since finishing school.
I tend to lack the patience to make mine nice. It requires a lot of focus. There must be a fundamental difference with people that have very nice natural handwriting. I'm curious what that might be and how others perceive themselves in that space.
Even with graphics on cars and motorcycles I rough sketched in several light strokes before establishing a more solid line. I want to write in a similar way. I almost have a subconscious mindset like each letter should be a draft with revisions or something. I do not have a vision of how I want the letter to look so I just slop something down like a rough draft. Then it is functionally readable, and I can't easily refine it so I move on.
Maybe it was that day in school when the teacher made me chose what hand to write with. It bugged me so much that neither hand was dominant and no matter how much the teacher insisted that I have a dominant hand, neither felt any different, so eventually she decided for me that I was right handed... and I still have not forgiven her.
That is the moment in school when most of us selected our handedness. That is an impactful moment in life. In terms of competitive sports it may define your potential in many areas. It leads down this path of the psychology of writing.