10+ Simple Ways to Get Consistent, Controlled Handwriting Today

Co-authored by Courtney Copriviza

Last Updated: September 11, 2024

Having consistent handwriting, or handwriting that always looks the same, can make your handwritten documents stand out from the pack and be a personal style statement. If you’ve decided that you want your handwriting to be consistent, check out this handy list of ways you can work on developing it. There are some general guidelines as well as suggestions for how and what to practice.

1

Use the same pen.

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Try different pens until you find your favorite and keep it on you. Buy or borrow different styles and brands of pens to try. Write a few pages with each of them to get a feel for how each one writes. Pick the pen that feels best to you and make that your signature writing tool!^{[1]
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- High-quality doesn’t have to mean expensive. There are plenty of great pens out there that won’t break the bank.
- For example, you could use a calligraphy pen, a gel pen, or a simple ballpoint pen. It’s totally up to you and depends on the consistent style you’re going for!

2

Write at different angles.

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Move the paper to find the position or angle that's most comfortable to write at. Turn the paper 45 degrees, 90 degrees, and everything in between to try out different positions. Choose whatever angle feels most comfortable to write at and always write with your paper turned that way.^{[2]
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- If having the paper straight in front of you feels best, then by all means stick with doing that! It’s just important to know that everyone writes differently, so if something else feels better, that’s totally fine.

3

Hold the pen with a relaxed grip.

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This helps you write comfortably and not tire out. Grip the pen loosely between your thumb and index finger. Hold it steadily, but don’t white-knuckle it! Rest the pen on your middle finger and check yourself if you notice you’re gripping it really tightly while you write.^{[3]
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- If you start gripping your pen too tightly as you write, it can change your handwriting or you can wear out and stop writing with the same pressure. A constant relaxed grip is one of the keys to consistent handwriting!

4

Move the pen with your upper arm.

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Maintaining a steady hand helps your writing look more uniform. Do your best to keep your forearm, fingers, and wrist still while you write. Instead, use the upper part of your arm and your shoulder to move the pen across the paper while you write, moving the paper up and away from you as you work your way down the page.^{[4]
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- This can be especially helpful if your hand tends to get tired after writing for a while. Changing up the muscles you use to write with can make you tire out less quickly and keep your handwriting more consistent.

5

Sit up straight when you write.

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Good posture makes writing more comfortable. Try not to hunch over the page as you write. Maintain a good, straight posture, without being too stiff. Avoid writing in uncomfortable positions that cause you to hunch over, as this can hurt your handwriting’s consistency.^{[5]
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- Move anything on the surface you’re writing on out of the way, so you can focus on maintaining a comfortable posture.

6

Write every day to practice.

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Set aside a few minutes every day to work on improving your writing. It could be in the mornings with coffee or in the evenings after work, school, and other responsibilities. Write whenever you have spare moments throughout the day if you’re totally swamped.^{[6]
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- Developing consistent handwriting takes a lot of time, dedication, and patience, but you can do it! It’s important to know that even the best of “consistent handwriters” probably aren’t as perfect as you think.
- Carry your trusty pen and a notebook with you wherever you go just for practicing your handwriting with.

7

Find creative ways to practice.

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Use worksheets, journals, and other writing activities to practice your handwriting. For example, download and print free handwriting worksheets, get a penpal and write letters to them regularly, or start a journal about your adventures. Try incorporating more handwriting into your everyday life by writing letters instead of emails when it’s appropriate or by taking notes by hand instead of on your laptop.^{[7]
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- You could also try a drill like writing down words from the dictionary one-by-one or look up creative writing prompts and start a notebook of short stories. Whatever keeps you engaged is great!

8

Focus on control instead of speed.

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Writing in a slow, deliberate way helps you develop a uniform style. Be patient and take your time on each letter and word to develop consistency, then gradually increase your speed as you improve.^{[8]
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- The same way you tend to make spelling mistakes and other errors when you write fast, you’re bound to make mistakes in your lettering, which hurt your handwriting’s consistency.

9

Use lined paper to develop neatness.

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Writing between the lines forces you to maintain consistency. Write straight along the bottom line. Use the top line to help you keep the height of letters the same.^{[9]
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- If you don’t have line paper to practice, use a ruler to draw lines on a blank piece of paper. Draw the lines lightly in pencil and erase them later if you want consistent handwriting on a blank piece of paper.
- You can also place a piece of lined paper underneath a blank one, so you can see the lines through the blank page, to practice your consistency.

10

Write each letter with the same slant.

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Slant is the degree to which your letters lean to one side and can vary between letters. Check if you tend to write letters with a slant to the left or the right. Keep the degree of slant the same for every word. If you don’t write with a slant, or you don’t want to anymore, focus on keeping each letter straight up and down.
- For instance, if you notice that the crossbar on your letter “t” slants at a certain angle, make sure you’re writing your “f” with a crossbar at the same angle.

11

Create letters that are uniform in size.

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Letters of a consistent size make the whole document coherent. Write each letter with about the same height and width as the adjacent letters. Keep all words on a page the same size from word to word.
- Naturally, you might write documents in smaller or larger font, depending on the size of the page, the line spacing, and other factors. However, the important thing is keeping the sizing of the letters and the words consistent at whatever scale you’re writing at.

12

Space out letters and words evenly.

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Even spacing brings everything together nicely on the page. Use the bottoms of your letters to guide your spacing. Try to keep the space between the bottoms of each letter the same. Move your pen over the same distance from the last word every time you’re starting a new word.^{[10]
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- Try to keep internal spacing in letters the same, too. For example, keep spacing between the humps and lines in the letters “m,” “n,” and “h” the same and keep the spaces in the middles of letters like “o” and “a” the same.

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This was very helpful, but then my handwriting gets worse when I am writing in the presence of people, not when I am alone. I feel people are watching.

Ace Don Jr.

Community Answer

Try to make your body relax, and stretch out your hands before writing. When you're anxious, your body tends to shake. Being uncomfortable while writing leads to bad handwriting.

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