On Writing

Journal Writing:

Letter Writing:

4 thoughts on “On Writing”

    2. Malcolm Cullen

      I was most interested to read of the interest by many in the advantages of handwriting . Having just read the Globe & Mail article, I noticed that the photos which accompanied it featured a young boy concentrating hard on holding his pen while writing. He held his pen in a tight clutch like grip which makes it particularly difficult to form letters in a flowing, cursive fashion, especially when using a fountain pen.

      Unfortunately, many young children are neither taught by parents or indeed teachers how to hold pens or pencils, this undoubtedly affects how they will both draw and write; if the fingers are not engaged in the activity the results of both writing and drawing will be inevitably tight and jerky, indeed fountain pens work best held at the comfortable angle of the ‘tripod grip’ using the fingers as well as wrist.

      I teach students how to draw at the college level and have most difficulty helping students who hold their pencils tightly in a clutch like grip. Children at a very young age first pick up a pencil and hold it very tightly in order to colour pictures or to draw and write which can take some effort using their small hands. My youngest daughter first clutched a pencil tightly with her thumb wrapped around her other fingers, until I showed her twice the more comfortable and effective tripod grip, which she has used ever since.

      I also noted the blog/article on this site of those who teach handwriting classes to again notice photos of children clutching their pens tightly.

      So, a plea to parents, educators and those interested and involved in teaching young people how to write well, please show them first the best way to hold a pencil or pen. As time passes their unfortunate penmanship habits will almost impossible to break resulting in difficulties in both drawing and writing. An adult clutching a pen in a child like way is most unfortunate in my opinion.

      Regarding handwriting being referred to as a mostly ‘lost art’, it may more positively be seen as having an advantage over typed text. From a marketing standpoint a well constructed handwritten letter will stand out from the crowd, emails and texts being (visually) much the same. In the past (illustration) clients have mentioned that I drew their attention with my hand written enquiry.

      Finally, praise indeed to Wonder Pens and the fine service and products they supply.

      Malcolm Cullen

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