The biggest trouble I seem to have with my handwriting is the slant, or I should say, lack of slant. my handwriting has always been vertical in cursive and my shorthand tends to be the same. This makes some of the letters sort of pile up on each other.
I was wondering if anyone else has this problem and how were you able to adjust your writing?
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Perhaps this plate written by Anna Pollmann, the first woman appointed as shorthand reporter in the New York State Supreme Court, will illustrate how it is possible to maintain shorthand legibility while having minimal writing slant.
Thank you Carlos. She has beautiful handwriting. I need more practice.
You're welcome, Lisa. I hope her writing inspires and motivates you!
Lisa, you might also find some of the drills in this old booklet helpful:
Practical Drills in Shorthand Penmanship
Ooh, thank you. That does look helpful!
If you think writing less vertically would help might you consider angling the paper a little? I always thought it was primarily the angle of the paper that made the slant. Palmer method books are out of copyright and free on archive.org
Incidentally, I looked at the Palmer method recently and was fascinated by the opening pages of his book and how serious he took it. His basic idea (my interpretation) of 'muscular movement' (however odd the name is)is that the arm flows smoothly without moving all that much and the paper is re-positioned as if to a 'writing machine.'
I never really learned this as a kid, tending to move my arm further and further away toward the end of the paper, and this explains why my writing always gets worse the further I get to the end of a line.
There's a natural relationship between and Palmer cursive and Gregg shorthand since it is fundamentally cursive writing. I think also John Gregg and Palmer knew each other.
Anyway, worth a look for Gregg students…
The Gregg Publishing Company even published a handwriting book in which the model is very Palmer-like:
"Gregg Handwriting", by John Robert Gregg and Mary Louis Champion, 1931. The model is totally in line with Palmer and Zaner Bloser, after the pen-pressure shading had been abandoned.
Sorry I didn't reply sooner. (I just got my computer back from repairs.)
Dockweller, I do slant my paper quite a bit. Problem is, I slant my arm quite a bit too. And I've been doing it for so long, it's hard to do any different. Interestingly, I did try to learn the Palmer method as an adult, and can't seem to get the hang of it either. I think kindergarten and first grade teachers really need to check that kids are holding pencils right, etc. I can't hold my pen with 2 fingers and a thumb either. And once you have that bad habit, it's so hard to change it.
Lee, thanks for the name of that book. I'm going to look for it.