What is Handwriting?

What is Handwriting?  

 

Typically, we form Alphabet letters with a handheld pen, but anything written by mouth or foot, with a brush or stylus or whatever, is still considered handwriting.  Handwriting is like a voice.  Rather than floating as sound waves across a room, our words flow visually onto a page.  And, just as the same words can be said in different tones that imply very different meanings, so too does each person’s handwriting reflect a very different voice (personality).  All the ways we choose to communicate say something about our patterns of thinking. 

Some people have learned to read “body language”.  How a person stands or sits when listening or speaking may indicate if they agree with what’s being said or if they are speaking honestly.  Handwriting is very much like body language on paper!  Our letters move along the page, leaning forward into the next word, or cautiously inching across a line with dogged steps.  Sometimes we write with happy garland smiles or pointy eyebrow frowns.  Often you will hear adults telling kids to sit up straight, stand tall, keep a good posture.  They know how important good posture is to health and to social acceptance.  Healthy handwriting is just as important and so much more fun!

Looking at how people write their thoughts on paper gives us great clues into their intentions too.  Have you ever noticed how hard you press on your pen or pencil when writing while you are angry?  That’s a clue as to how much feeling you are putting into those words and thoughts on paper.  How you form your letters when you write gives more clues.  And, even more clues can be detected from how fast or slow you are writing, and how much space you give your letters, lines, and margins.  The page represents our space in the world.  How we choose to fill up that space, how we move into and across it, and what forms we draw on it are all symbols of what we think we are in our own world.

©Susan Govorko 2009-2020


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