Top 10 Problems (6 thru 10)

6. My hand/wrist/arm/shoulder/neck/back/entire body is getting sore.
Yup, that happens. Try to relax and take some breaks. Also, it is really important to be in a proper position at your desk. There will be many posts about all the issues of maintaining your health. For now, just work on two things. Relaxing so that you are enjoying the process (and losing track of time) BUT remember to take breaks. To be good at penmanship, you really need to get lost in the process so that you are enjoying your practice time. But, sadly, when you start to really enjoy the practice, you lose track of time and sit there for so long that you run the risk of destroying your joints. Seriously, I blew out my elbow one time and ever since, I have to be very careful to not re-injure it. So - find some balance between maintaining focus but also taking breaks. I can't give you any exact recipe. It's like finding those balance points in every other part of life.


7. My work is ugly.
No it isn't. It may not be what you want it to be - but seriously, this is not rocket science. It is hands down the most accessible artistic endeavor. If you can hold a pen, you can improve your penmanship and if you tell me what your problem is I will be very surprised if it is not something that I have already heard and already resolved.

8. I don't have time to practice.
OK. That's the one problem I can't resolve. Many people have long lists of things they hope to accomplish. Writing with nibs and ink will take a little time. If you can't make the time, let me know and I will toss out some other options for you. If you want me to help you reorganize your life so that you do have time, I will be happy to do that. You probably won't like any of my suggestions....but they are pretty creative.

9. Your exemplar is ugly.
Baby steps. Remember the first time you rode a bike? Was it lovely and fluid?
No. You probably fell off. So, we are going to start with some clunky weird looking stuff and then later on, we will smooth off the rough edges and transform it into whatever you like.

10. This is ridiculous.
Well, maybe it is. But, it's free and it's delivered to your house. So, give it a try and let me know how it goes. It is a completely different approach but I like to try out-of-the-box things. I once taught a penmanship class on the radio. Seriously. I did. I will tell the whole story at some point. In the meantime, if you really want to learn how to write with nibs and ink give it a try. If you don't have nibs and ink, you can always do the same lessons with any regular pen or marker and see what happens. At the very least, you could improve your penmanship.