The Lost Art of Handwriting Practice Sheets: Exercise Book For Creative Writing and Calligraphy is a workbook that focuses on good handwriting.

Early in my homeschooling years, I remember learning cursive handwriting. But, of course, it had to be perfect too!

The book is an excellent workbook for kids and adults who want to master their own handwriting or improve on it.

Inside you’ll find:

The Lost Art of Handwriting isn’t just about writing. It’s a book focusing on cursive writing and improving handwriting enjoyably!

I’ve never liked any other book on handwriting as much. The pages are thick, and the paper is excellent (although not fountain pen friendly).

The layout is lovely, and the author managed to include a lot of different fonts in it without making the book look unstructured or messy. Instead, it’s a very nice and clean layout, and it consists of some original art as well.

The Lost Art of Handwriting is an excellent book for adults looking to improve or learn how to write more admirable.

Handwriting Analysis: The Complete Basic Book 

In Handwriting Analysis: The Complete Basic Book, Brenna Jordan (Author) presents an overview of the essential elements of general graphology and provides insights into the interpretation of handwriting.

I read this book as a paper copy, and I’m not very satisfied with it: many book topics were of poor quality and little interest.

The book’s author, Brenna Jordan, Ph.D., has studied graphology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a member of the American Handwriting Analysis Foundation and has developed an educational course in graphology. She is also the author of many books and articles on handwriting analysis.

The book begins with a chapter about graphology and its history, including the different regions that practiced graphology. This chapter contains a lot of information and is well-documented with references to famous handwriting analysts or famous people who have been influenced by graphology.

The following chapters of the book focus on the different parts of a handwriting sample. From the formation of the letters to the shape of the whole writing style. Including slant and positioning. Each letter is thoroughly explained with detailed and easy-to-understand drawings. 

The author also provides the reader with :

• a list of her symbols used in handwriting analysis 
• some general explanations about the different kinds of strokes
• the position of the words in a handwriting sample.

The last chapter contains four examples related to a different topic: 

• combat stress
• love and romance
• the death of a friend 
• divorce. 

Each chapter includes an interpretation of the handwriting sample in question. In this chapter, the reader can find general information about handwriting analysis without any technicalities. It is more like a “how to do it” and “how to be successful in it” guide, which is interesting for those who want to learn how to analyze handwriting.

In all, I found this book to be a good read for those interested in graphology and who want to find an introduction with general information. However, if you are looking for technical explanations and the mathematics behind handwriting interpretation, this is not the book you are looking for.

Handwriting Analysis: Putting It to Work for You

by Andrea McNichol, Jeffrey A. Nelson

This book turns handwriting analysis into science and explains its basic principles.

Putting It to Work For You: 

Handwriting Analysis shows how to use the information that your handwriting reveals and determine the likely personality traits and behavior of people who send you anonymous notes or letters. 

For example, the book explains how good handwriting indicates good-naturedness and good mental health; poor posture, on the other hand, usually means a troubled mind. 

The book also discusses how good handwriting can pinpoint good character and hearts.

The book teaches you to think about what your good and lousy penmanship tell you about yourself. You’ll learn to identify good aspects of your character and good features in people, whether it’s the excellent phone manner of colleagues or the good parent qualities in friends. You’ll also learn how to spot good signs in people who are good sources for your business and good friends for you and your family.

By learning to think about good handwriting in a good way, you can begin to recognize good clues to good things coming your way.

I wish you good handwriting!

Sex, Lies, and Handwriting: A Top Expert Reveals the Secrets Hidden in Your Handwriting

by Michelle Dresbold, James Kwalwasser

Imagine being able to decode the hidden meaning in your handwriting. Knowing what lies behind your words can dramatically impact your career, relationships, and success.

You may ask yourself, what good is your handwriting? Can’t people type out what they want to say these days?

That’s true, but what good is being able to pick up on the hidden messages? You may be judging a book by its cover, so to speak, without good cause.

Only good lies beneath the surface of good handwriting.

           So what does good handwriting mean? It means understanding how to recognize good handwriting.

           Can you recognize good handwriting? Would it surprise you to know that good handwriting reveals more than 50% of your personality traits? It’s true.

           That means good handwriting is more than half of the battle to understanding what success and good relationships can be for you.

           In her book, Sex, Lies, and Handwriting: A Top Expert Reveals the Secrets Hidden in Your Handwriting, Michelle Dresbold, an expert in analyzing handwriting and good relationships, dives into the sound harmful aspects of what good handwriting means.

           She explores good handwriting through good relationships, good career paths, and good communication. Finally, she explores bad writing through what it can mean for your sex life, lies you’ve, good relationships, good career paths, and good communication.

           These are exciting concepts because it’s all about good handwriting. So what does good handwriting mean? First, it takes an expert to know good handwriting.

           Michelle Dresbold is that expert and shares what good handwriting means in her book Sex, Lies, and Handwriting: A Top Expert Reveals the Secrets Hidden in Your Handwriting.

The History and Uncertain Future of Handwriting

by Anne Trubek

The History and Uncertain Future of Handwriting by Anne Trubek (University Press of New England, December 2012) is available at good bookstores. It can be purchased at Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.

“Trubek’s handwriting is good, though it’s clear that good penmanship has become a lost art.”

– “Booklist”

“Trubek persuasively argues for the continuing utility of handwriting, even as many children are no longer taught cursive in schools. . .”

– “Publishers Weekly”

Anne Trubek, a former editor of “The American Scholar,” is the writer behind The Skeptical Optimist blog, which looks at ways to apply good design and good ideas to make America (and the world) a better place. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

James Estrin interviewed Anne Trubek for the New York Times’ blog, The Lively Morgue. You can read it here.

Book Excerpt: The History and Uncertain Future of Handwriting

by Anne Trubek

The first recorded writing dates from about 4,000 years ago. It is a record of taxes—paid in sheep, goats, and beer.  

It is an excellent beginning to the history of handwriting because it points out how much we can know about the history of handwriting and how little we know. The Sumerian clay tablet that records a man’s payment of 3 measures of barley to the king is, on first consideration, a good starting point. It is the world’s oldest writing. It points out that writing is an instrument of government. And, most importantly, it shows that good cursive handwriting and graphic skills—is a sign of proficiency and good citizenship.

The first good argument for good handwriting comes from the Greeks. Socrates and his followers, who had a hand in teaching students good writing, were the first to argue that good script is intrinsically good. Socrates’ arguments are short and easy to understand. He makes good philosophical arguments, but he must have been a good teacher or persuasive speaker.

“I cannot but feel that writing, which turns the learner back upon himself, taking him away from the truth and reality, is not the best method” (Plato, Phaedrus).

Socrates’ argument for handwriting is the first good one. But, unfortunately, his only counterpoint—that writing permits learners to study independently—is easy to refute if you are an early-morning high school teacher.

The critical point is the weight of Socrates’ belief in handwriting. And it was a critical one, literally and symbolically. The history of calligraphy is essentially a history of the teacher’s pen, the student’s pencil, and the student’s notebook. It is a history of books and schoolrooms. The teaching of handwriting was, as Socrates says, something that belonged to schools and teachers.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Handwriting Analysis

by Sheila Lowe 

When was the last time you have received handwritten notes? How about a love letter? When it comes to the art of handwriting analysis, many think this practice is like using tea leaves to read future events. While it certainly shares some characteristics with fortune-telling, the science of handwriting analysis — graphology — is a legitimate, highly accurate character analysis form.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Handwriting Analysis (Alpha Books, $19.95 US/$23.95 CAN) will give you insight into the specifics of the science and show you how to analyze handwriting and understand a person’s most essential and intimated traits. Drawing upon 30 years of experience as a professional graphologist, Sheila Lowe clearly explains what every squiggle and dot says about a person.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Handwriting Analysis is an invaluable resource for understanding your family, friends, and even yourself. It can tell you about a person’s personality, level of intelligence, and where he falls on the honesty scale. This book will help you understand the history of handwriting analysis, how to analyze handwriting and what it can reveal about a person’s personality. It includes everything you need to get started in this fascinating field — and you don’t need to be a psychic!

About the Author

Sheila Lowe is one of the world’s leading authorities on handwriting analysis. Before her first book, How to Read handwriting, was even published in 1982, she taught handwriting analysis at UCLA Extension, served as the vice president of the World Association of Document Examiners, and helped to found the American Society Handwriting Analysts.

Now, 25 years later, she is the president of her own company, Sheila Lowe & Associates, specializing in forensic document examination and handwriting analysis. Lowe is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and qualified as an expert witness in handwriting analysis in state and federal courts.

Spencerian Handwriting: The Complete Collection of Theory and Practical Workbooks for Perfect Cursive and Hand Lettering

by Platt Rogers Spencer

This book is designed as a complete course of instruction in writing. It is helpful to the scholar and the professional penman, as it contains all that is necessary to acquire excellent, graceful and neat handwriting.

This book is the standard authority on Spencerian writing and has been for nearly one hundred and fifty years. It contains all the knowledge needed to master the art of penmanship, and it has been used that way by literally hundreds of thousands of students.

This collection of workbooks includes all seven books in the series. Each book outlines Spencer’s method and contains examples, exercises, and illustrations. They are all here, plus the seven workbooks devoted to practicing Spencerian lettering.

This collection is a must for anyone seeking to improve their neat handwriting.

Here’s how changing your handwriting can change your life:

1. When you change your handwriting, you change how you think and feel about yourself. For example, the right-handed print “G” becomes an “F” when you move to the left. Similarly, if you alter your jagged “J” into a circular letterform, you will feel more of a sense of completion and power.

2. If you make the new letters bigger, you will start to think of yourself as a significant person who can accomplish great things. The enlargement of the notes will give you a sense that there is much more to you than meets the eye.

3. Use more “upstrokes” in your handwriting to display firmness of purpose, confidence, and authority. Conversely, “dotting” your “i’s” and crossing your “t’s” with upstrokes suggests impulsiveness.

4. A sudden change in your handwriting style may mean that you are looking for a change in your life.

5. Do you want to be more persuasive? Then increase the size of your “O” and “C.” Make a new letter, a rounded 3-stroke version of your 8.

6. When you change your letterforms, you may also want to edit the contents of your thoughts. The more open loops in your letters, the more relaxed you are to new experiences. Conversely, a closed letterform reveals a more stubborn, judgmental attitude.

7. Create a whole new script when you want to launch a new project or promote your business. Handwriting that is smaller, neater, and more controlled suggests you are better organized and more focused on getting the job done.

8. If you want to appear calm, steady, and persuasive, use neat handwriting styles that are “lively” but controlled.

9. Change your handwriting style to convey the sentiments you want others to feel about you.

10. Want to make a good impression? Use a big loop on the bottom of your “y.” This letter is an invitation to others.

11. Loosen up your writing when you want to be more spontaneous, creative, or curious.

12. Write your letters “in reverse” when you feel rebellious and impulsive.

Your signature is your calling card. It can impact your life in more ways than you think. A robust and well-written signature projects confidence and power. On the other hand, a flimsy signature can make you appear weak and indecisive.

How can I improve my handwriting?

STEP 1: Always use a pen ( preferably a gel pen, such as the G2 ).

STEP 2: Write only on dotted lines.

STEP 3: Place your writing hand in a bowl of warm water for about 3 minutes prior to writing.

If you follow these three simple steps, you will be writing like an angel in no time!

What kind of handwriting is best?

All handwriting is beautiful. If your writing does not look like it was written by a doctor in Greenland, then you need to try harder!

Does good handwriting mean intelligence?

Good handwriting is required for success in the business world. Studies show that people with good handwriting make 10% more money than those without it.

Can I improve my handwriting?

Yes! People with good penmanship are more successful both in personal and business relationships.

Is good handwriting a talent?

Yes! However, the talent for handwriting is usually not inherited. It can be learned by practice.

Should I print or write cursive?

Printing is good for homework, while cursive writing is more suitable for thank you notes and love letters. You should use them both!

How to make writing fun?

Writing should be a joyous occasion, filled with love and companionship.