Handwritten notes have become a thing of nostalgia. With the onset of technology, people get lesser and lesser opportunities to hand write anything. But even during these highly digital times, there are those who are passionate about writing. However, the lack of regular writing can lead to a few handwriting faux pas.

So here are 7 of the most common script mistakes and how to fix them:

1. Misalignment:

Do your sentences end up travelling from Chennai to Delhi frequently? When your writing has a tendency to tilt up and down the page, it is apparent that you need to take steps to fix this misalignment. This issue might make your handwriting look shabby even if the font is neat. To fix this, use index cards or visiting cards as a line while writing on blank pages and soon you’ll be writing without any help!

2. Thickness quality:

If your words are looking lighter or darker every inconsistently, then it might be due to your writing pressure. This is what decides the thickness of your words on the page. For legible writing, that doesn’t look like it’s written in a hurry, apply pressure on your stroke while writing. Slowly and steadily increase the pressure until you perfect your writing style.

3. Spacing issues:

Shabby and rushed writing is one of the worst scripts to look at and if your writing looks like that despite you writing slowly, it might be a spacing problem. What most people don’t realise is – no matter how slowly you write, an appropriate amount of spacing is integral to a good handwriting. To practice what you can do is start to write a small ‘o’ between each word. This is the space you must keep in mind while writing. Keep repeating this until you are able to mimic the space of the ‘o’ and then you are good to go!

4. Slanting Letters:

Another mistake that makes your writing look bad as a whole is – slant writing. Most people who have this issue, end up writing every letter slant and that makes the written page look like the written block of words are leaning. The easiest way to correct this mistake is to angle your sheet slightly in the opposite direction of how you tilt and write.

5. Letter connects:

One of the most common errors in handwriting is improper letter formation. Disjointed letters can make your handwriting look very lethargic and untidy. It also projects a lack of confidence in the writing since unconnected letters stand for hesitation. The only way to alter this is serious practice into writing in a cursive style. Cursive writing forces joined penmanship and gives an overall elegant look and feel.

6. Mixing the cases:

Although this is more to do with general articulation, it also has an adverse effect on your handwriting style. Writing where the cases are consistently mixed up ends up looking highly unorganised and confused in appearance. To fix this it takes a serious level of determination and practice into looking at cursive writing and replicating it. More than anything else, the only fix this needs is to place a mental block that prevents you from doing this again.

7. Font Sharpness:

A sign of good penmanship is well-rounded words which have curved edges. Sharp fonts not only make it look like the writing is rushed and can often convey incorrect meanings. Letters like ‘n,m and u’ in particular may be interpreted as other letters if written with sharp angled edges. The best way to come off this habit is to use cursive stencils and practice until you automatically round off your letters.

Writing by hand improves concentration and helps develop your inner creativity. These are only a few simple tips to perfect your script. For a complete revamp of your handwriting, the best thing to do would be to go for handwriting classes and learn from the professionals. Then you too can re-discover the beauty behind handwritten work.