My favorite word to write is "minimum". Im 73 now and my writing has gotten progressively through the years. When I was in school I wrote exclusively with a fountain. Sadly I got away from that. I am working with my fountain pens to reconnect with my past.
Lmao I was just thinking about my favourite word to write while I came across this comment. It is also "minimum" :D. It's just something about the fact that they are all small letters with flicks at the start and end that link up beautifully.
I've been writing consistently with a fountain for about nine months. Although my writing has improved I still cringe looking at my journal. I think that education - higher education - was the death knell to my penmanship. So many notes to take during lectures that one creates their own shorthand that carries on into the profession. My favorite word to write with my fountain pen is my daughter's full name, "Alexandra." I take extra care when leaving her notes. The big take-away from this video is slow down - life moves to swiftly. Enjoy the simple pleasures like conveying thoughts and emotions through writing. Keep it up.
Try out The Art of Cursive Penmanship by Michael R Sull. It is a fantastic book for improving your writing. Just take your time with it really drilling the shape of each exercise into your arm movement
Heh, my first kiss was with a girl named Alexandra, little bilingual polish immigrant, aryan features, looked just like her unbearably hot mother who had my dad sweating in casual conversation. We were in like 4th grade? I'm too old to remember that much about so long ago but I recall admiring her intense insistence on fairness and thinking her freckles were super cute. I think I remember her so well because she was the exact moment girls stopped being icky. Anyway, I just started fountain pens but finally writing with one that isn't someone else's old leaky mess is interesting, you have to go slow, you can't possibly write as fast as you can think. I can type almost that fast so I've been typing forever and lost all handwriting skill, I mean down to an almost caveman level, my handwriting looks like a child. Or it did, till I actually sat there with my first fountain pen and carefully formed each letter. I think I had a similar moment when I realized fishing isn't about catching fish, it's about standing around somewhere beautiful and ignoring whatever bullshit's going on. Caught a lot more fish after that, actually, same with this I guess.
Practice and care about what you are writing. Yes, slow down where it matters. You can speed up later once you perfect your style. AND use Paper that goes well with your pen. It will take trying different kinds.
I love writing my children’s names, too! They love watching me play with my flex pens, and get so happy when I write their name carefully and beautifully. They’re the most lovely thing I can currently write 😊
Your tips are so accurate. My writing still isn’t terrific, but my handwriting has vastly improved over the last year with consistent practice. My favorite word? “Handwriting!”
After much digging through everyone's favorite word, I finally found out that the reddish black ink is Taccia Ebi Purple-Red @Goldspot pens it would be great if in the future you include the products used on the video. That aside, awesome contents
While fairly new to the fountain pen world, I jumped in head first. My handwriting has never been particularly bad but it could definitely be more consistent. When I try a new pen, my favorite phrase to write is "hello there." My second favorite word to write is "Love." The loopy L is my favorite letter.
I always appreciate your pen demos because you can write well with the pens you demo, which to me is more important than almost anything else I see about a pen's writing. I have good handwriting, I've been told, so thank you for improving your handwriting for yourself, your job and your customers!!
I'm an old, so I had much of this drilled into me during school, when we had regular penmanship class, day after day. Unfortunately, I became lazy over the years, plus had a hand injury that made writing painful for far too long. Fountain pens have enabled me to write by hand for long periods again, and I'm having to relearn what my muscle memory forgot. I don't know that I have a favorite word to write, really, but these days, I find myself frequently writing the Japanese kanji for "kangaeru" (考える), which means to reflect or to contemplate.
Your 3 Ts are so on point! I’ve always had good penmanship, both cursive and printing, but years of computer usage for everyday writing had led to some serious deterioration of my hand. Once I became addicted to my fountain pen habit, I spent weeks just writing anything and everything (all the random things you recommend in the video). I was really amazed at how much my handwriting improved! Like you also recommend, I watched videos and consulted guides online, and practiced form and spacing as well as just experimenting with lines, flourishes and the like. As I have to use ballpoint pens for work, I’ve noticed that my improved penmanship even carries over and colleagues have complimented Mel my hand. One of my favorite words to write in a cursive hand is Surprise; I like the various styles I can use to begin the word with a capital S, and I love a nice pointy lower case p, a beautifully curled and formed lower case r, and again a pointy and swooping lower case s.
Absolutely good advice, even for other pens too. I used to hate my writing until I took the time to fine tune it. It was not a copy of someone else's. It was all my own and since it was a fine-tuning of my awful writing it was unique. But it took a lot of determination to find that out. Now, learning a style with a fountain pen, as difficult as it may look, I know it will work out with practice. AND paper MATTERS!
Short story....7 months ago I cut my middle finger...blade went to the bone. (Iwon't add the dialogue here). Anyway...after the finger healed, I had to hold my pen differently & write slower. My penmanship improved tremendously! I have always had poor penmanship...even with fountain pens. As you said, "slow down" and focus. Love fountain pens. They feel like a connection to an earlier era.
I don't have a practice word, instead I write a set of pangrams for warmup ('quick brown fox' etc.) I'm usually working on a letter shape (2018 was a major overhaul of cursive lowercase & printed lowercase ) so after pangrams I freeform words, putting whatever letter I'm working on into words with differing preceding/following letters.
Hi I’m new to fountain pens and I find this very helpful on improving my handwriting, my favorite word to write is “Amen” why , last year my son almost died and because we believe in God and Jesus he now lives and every day I thank the lord for this incredible blessing. Keep the good work and thanks
Thanks for the great tips! Picking a favorite word is tough because I love how my stub nib pen writes all words...but I'll go with "Science" for today.
Wow. Can’t wait to start practicing. It’s been years since I last used a fountain pen, but I can see how one could get mesmerized in another world practicing.
My favourite to write is someone! It can be written in a quick, uninterrupted line, and also conjures a solemn specter on the page to accompany you during the night
I love to write the word "huzzah!" In cursive, in print, and in italic scripts the letter "z" is fun to write. The "h" bracketing each end of the world gives it a balanced look and feel. And best of all it's a word of delight, of congratulations, of joy in the accomplishment of a friend!
After a lifetime of taking notes and signature pads at stores have ruined my once nice handwriting skills. But now I’m writing for the fun of it again and my lost talent is on a rebound. My favorite word to write is “if” it is a word full of hope, dreams and infinite possibilities and everything that has come after it is what has made the world so wonderful.
"Slow down" is the reminder I need most. Seems like I'm in a hurry to get all my thoughts down before they evaporate. By writing one favorite word, "jabberwocky" I get double letters, have to keep the c from running into the k, remember to close the o, a and e (something I have trouble doing on a regular basis), and have extensions below and above the line. Thanks for the reminder to work at it daily and compare day one to day 30, or 40 or 50.
first time fountain pen user. Practice practice practice is the best way to learn- motor learning because muscles have memory and that allows us to carry over what we learn in our penmanship. Thank you
My favourite word to write is friendship, I love all the curves and loops and the connectedness of the letters and their reflection of the connectedness of true friends.
Great video! About 2 years I had a stroke, I found that it is so easier to write cursive writing (I used to use printing). Since I have to write cursive, I am working on my penmanship and it is getting better, but it is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! My favorite word is "Aphasia". Aphasia a·pha·sia /əˈfāZH(ē)ə,əˈfāzēə/ noun loss of ability to understand or express speech, caused by brain damage. That is one very cool looking pen! (my grail pen is the Sailor 1911 Standard)
If constrained to a single word: M I N I M U M Otherwise, I go with pangrams: The quick brown fox..., Sphinx of black quartz..., etc. Alternative words I like: intuitive, fluffy, zygote (my ascenders/descenders are messy and inconsistent.)
I loved this! Thank you for sharing these three "T's", and the encouragement to slow down and practice! My favorite word right now is Delight! :) .....
I've always wanted to be able to write elegantly. This video makes it seem much more attainable. My favorite word is Love. It's fun to write and heartwarming in its implications.
OMG! That is quite the word. It'd take me several practice steps with about 5 or so letters per step to combine all together and form the complete sentence. . . I mean word.
My favorite word to write is attitude. A great attitude goes a long way. And I love that lime green Sailor. I've been drooling over it since it came out.
My favorite word is, Loving Kindess. I try to practice it daily in my penmanship time, as well as letting it flow free!y from my being. To everyone and everything I we and do. I just brings forth a joyous feeling.
Thanks Tom, fantastic video as always. I am so happy it is National Handwriting Day, although I am not for the USA 🤣. My favourite word used to be my name, Rohan. I first learnt to write my name in kindergarten. Now, it is Ian, my son's name, who will inherit my sailor pen one day. I also intend to introduce him to the wonderful world of fountain pens...the next generation need to be connected to fine penmanship.
My favorite word is: Artisanship. We live in a world of convenience where there are disposable ballpoint pens and cheap paper. It is nice to know that we as fountain pen enthusiasts love the pens that will last forever (Though I have a soft spot for the varsity) and it's even more awesome knowing that there are craftsman who are still capable of making fountain pens when they are so uncommon in the US.
A favorite word - at first I thought it hard to choose but then I realized it wasn't. My word - friends. Without friends I would have no pen pals, I would have no life outside work or books. Friends encourage me to write, to play and to live my life. Thank you for the encouraging video.
My favorite word to write is "serendipity" - it has a nice combination of loops and straighter lines - plus there's a great opportunity for a swish with the "y"
I got instant results when I slow down my writing!! It is now my favorite mantra before putting ink on paper. My favorite word when writing with my fountain pen is my signature.
Thank you for the opportunity. Favorite word to write is more of a phrase. “Merry Christmas”. When I write that to someone with the intention to make it look great and festive it invokes a very “merry” feeling
I'm so happy to have found a "community". My handwriting has been horrible my whole life. I saw some beautiful fountain pens and bought one anyway. Everything is changing. I have been studying your videos religiously. My favorite word to write is my own name. That maybe hokey, but it makes me emotional. My signature is something I'm proud of now.
What a great aspirational video! My favorite word (at this point?!) is “Merci” - it’s a word that I can and have used the “3 T’s” to enjoy and so allows me to also enjoy whatever ink or nib I’m using. Now to begin that 30 day task......
Ohhh, such simple and doable handwriting improvement assessment! I'm overwriting leftie and I'm trying to curb my writing habit. I must say underwriting is less strenuous for my wrist. When choosing a pen i would doodle and write hello, hello, hello just to see if the ink flow smoothly and the nib doesn't scratch the paper. By the way, hello from Malaysia.
My favorite word is "lazy" or "Lazy". It's a word that I've come to appreciate now that I'm retired. It gives me the chance to write the letter "z" which I don't get to do too often, and if I capitalize the "L", it offers the chance to provide a flourish!
My favorite word is handwriting (in lower case), because it starts with an ascender, has good internal flow, and ends with a descender. Thanks for the opportunity to enter the contest!
My faxorite word to write is SWIFT. For some reason the way the joining from letter-to-letter goes is very soothing. Fountain pens are very soothing to use and subconsciously encourage purposeful writing. I love them.
One of my favorite words to write is February! A capital F provides a lot of opportunity to play with swirls and the lower case b reminds me not to use the printed b and r's are fun to do correctly as well. Then I can play with the descender of the y to balance the capital F at the beginning and frame the word. (Sadly, it's now March and I won't get as much journal practice for the rest of the year. Except my weekly Fridays!
