I’ve noticed that since I finished college (11+ years ago) that my handwriting has become atrocious. We’re such a technology- heavy society that not too many of us have any reason to use our handwriting once we leave the academic world. These days, a person needs to know how to type to communicate, and there seems to be little emphasis placed on maintain legible penmanship.
To help restore a dying art, I’ve been writing LOTS in various notebooks that I bought as self-encouragement to write… period. They’re not fancy. Just spiral notebooks that kids use in school. I tried the fancy-shmancy type thinking it would inspire me even more. But, I quickly learned that a cheap. 67 cent spiral bound book is all I need to jot down thoughts. I love to take them to places where I’ll see lots of people so I can work on character development. Despite strange and curious looks people often give me, it’s a fun way to be creative. If only people had the courage to just ask what I’m doing.
A couple of times, I’ve had the opportunity to write for nearly 30 minutes without interruption. How heavenly! It’s those times, when my wrist begins to ache, that I recognize I need to practice more often to re-build all those muscles that have been neglected all these years.
I must say, though, that the writer’s cramp is worth it. Not only has my handwriting improved immensely, I’m writing more – which means my head is less cluttered. And that is such a good thing!
I use plain notebooks for my organizer, too. Four columns on the left-hand page, three on the right, with a big column on the right for notes. Five lines for each row. Lines in green, numbers in brown. Piece of cake, and $1.27 sure beats $25 or so for stuff I don’t need.