Ugly Handwriting and what it Says about You
Ugly handwriting needs its very own own post because it has always been the ugly duckling among writers.
There are several reasons why I’m featuring “Ugly handwriting” today – one of the most important being that these handwritings usually have a lot to them and the writers of these handwritings are never bland.
In fact I have always found them to be the most interesting to analyze.
So if you have an ugly handwriting read on – there may be more to your scrawl than first meets the eye.
We all know what “ugly handwriting” looks like. It’s the exact opposite of those beautiful neat and often calligraphic looking works of art that we all envy.
Ugly handwriting has poor rhythm and many inconsistencies. I was told as a child by an unsympathetic examiner that my handwriting resembled a garden – a garden with weeds.
And so people with poor handwriting always find themselves having to apologize:
“Please excuse my handwriting as I’m writing in a moving car” – or “galloping in a horse and buggy” etc.
Poor writers hardly received much encouragement from the classical graphologists either. They were a rather stuffy lot in those days and found it difficult to countenance poor handwriting.
Crepieux-Jamin, one of the founding fathers of French Graphology, when describing these unfortunate missives referred to their “multiple discordances” with much disapproval.
Ludwig Klages, a famous German graphologist was even more derogatory about this kind of handwriting which he dismissed with the haughty description of “poor form level.”
As far as he was concerned anyone who wrote with poor form level was the pits! He should have seen some of the handwriting of today!
Now I’m not trying to suggest that there is great virtue in writing “badly” – or that you should try to cultivate an ugly hand. Far from it. I am in a constant battle myself in this regard because my own handwriting, as I’ve mentioned, is far from beautiful!
Of course, every handwriting is different and generalities, especially in the field of handwriting analysis, can be dangerous.
Nevertheless there are some interesting things that we can point out.
The Meaning of Ugly Handwriting
Ugly handwriting can indicate a certain amount of emotional baggage. Many ugly writers tend to be emotionally volatile.
Sometimes, ugly handwriting can be an indication of low self-esteem or insecurity; but it can also show autonomy and a desire to be judged on your own merits rather than conform to the standard way of doing things.
For those of us who are members of the club of ugly handwriters, there are a few consolations.
Ugly handwriting is always individualistic because this type of writer is an independent thinker. You will notice that this writer does not always fit in with the expectations of society.
Ugly handwriting often goes with creativity and sometimes it can be a sign of eccentricity too.
Paganini the great violinist belonged to this category and he was certainly eccentric and undoubtedly creative.
Picasso also had an ugly handwriting and look at what happened to him!
So, if you class yourself as an ugly writer don’t despair! Some of the ugliest writers have been highly creative or exceptional people in one way or another. Aside form Picasso, think of Beethoven and Napoleon. They had dreadful handwriting and look at what they achieved!
If you are the somewhat embarrassed owner of an “ugly handwriting” please share your story here and tell us about some of the trials and tribulations you endured at school because of it. It can be such an unfair world!
Pretty Handwriting: What it says about you
Tags: independent thinker, individualist, poor handwriting, ugly duckling, ugly handwriting
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Comments (48)
Modisette
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Very nicely said. I discovered your post from Yahoo and enjoyed reading it. Have you been writing for long? Just the other day I recently set up a blog myself and its been an enjoyable process. I’ve met some new people since then but it is tough sometimes! Anyway, many thanks for your post!
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Mayu
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Wow, then I must suck at creativity because my handwriting is very neat and tidy.
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Sandra
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Not at all, Mayu. Neat handwriting is a plus and you can certainly be creative and neat at the same time.
My point is that ugly handwriting should not be criticized too harshly because there are many creative people who are wildly creative but undisciplined. They are concerned more with the substance than with the form it takes.
If however, someone is creative but also disciplined it’s a great advantage. It’s just that you don’t find this type of combination too easily.
On the other hand, you sometimes find that if too much discipline is imposed on the artist or writer it can be stultifying and lead to writer or artist’s block.
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Ugly Handwriting and what it Says
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[...] Ugly Handwriting and what it Says about You [...]
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Valerie
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I would like to digress slightly – left handers also get a bad wrap in graphology. There are different theories which are totally diverse. Left leaning slant is either stuck with “regressing to the past” or treat as the opposite. Even though some research has been completed it seems as though no definite rule has emerged. I was told just ignore the slant and look at other characteristics.
Can anyone elaborate?
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Sandra
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Valerie, I don’t think it’s a good idea to ignore the slant completely. Some left-handers write with a pronounced forward slant so you can’t make generalizations.
Of course you need to take into account that the writer is left-handed when you make your assessment but generally speaking many left-handed writers write in such a way that it is difficult to determine if they were left-handed or right-handed.
That’s why a graphologist always asks about the writer’s handedness before doing an analysis.
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Graphology at Home
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Ugly Handwriting and what it Says about You | Graphology World
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Chased
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I found your site on del.icio.us today and really liked it.. I bookmarked it and will be back to check it out some more later
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Aspergers Syndromes
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Great site. A lot of useful information here. I’m sending it to some friends!
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Trance
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Hi, my name is Trance and I think the same thing. I even wrote about it on my blog a while ago. Anyway, I’m not necessarily into this stuff but Ugly Handwriting and what it Says about You | Graphology World just happened to grab my attention there in the sidebar, while I was browsing through.
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Ganalot
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[...] Ugly Handwriting and what it Says about You | Graphology World [...]
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Ola Streu
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Your website is really cool and this is a great inspiring article. Thank you so much.
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Otto Keller
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Awesome, Awesome and Awesome. This is very valuable information and has been of great help to me, thanks.
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Frizzell
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Wow, that was a very good read through. Finally, somebody who actually thinks and understands what they’re talking about. Very uncommon these days, especially on-line. I saved your site and will make sure to keep coming back here if this is how you always post. Appreciate it, keep it up!
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joseph
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I completely agree, great aricle!
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Leesa Bergholm
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I’ve never learned so much from any other blog before. Enjoyed reading this today.
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The Benefits of Graphology in the Classroom | Graphology World
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It is highly possible that those very children with the most unruly and ugly handwritings are the most creative and the most innovative.
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Heike Posen
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I just love it. Amazing article. I only wish you updated your blog more frequently, I just can’t seem to get enough . I saved your site in my favorites. Do you think that I could be a guest poster at some point?
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Sammie
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I am extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your blog. Keep up the nice quality writing, it’s rare to see a nice blog like this one these days..
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Cazeau
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I’ve been visiting your blog for a while now and I always find a gem in your new posts. Thanks for sharing.
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Klun
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greetings, I just wanted to comment and say that I was really impressed with your blog. Keep up the good work! You are a really talented writer and it shows
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Roy Engel
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This is excellent! Where do you find this stuff?
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Alli
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Thanks for the fantastic post!! I certainly enjoyed every bit of it. I have your website favorited to keep up with any further articles.
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Sandra
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Hi Roy
I don’t find the stuff! I actually write it word by word! Anyway glad you like the result.
Best wishes,
Sandra
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David
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I’m really Glad i found this web site.Added graphology-world.com to my bookmark!
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learning disabilities
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Glad to find this information. I have been searching in Google for long time.
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Chui
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My handwriting is fairly bad. I consider myself to be creative!
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Sandra
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“Chui – “Bad” handwriting does not necessarily mean that one is creative. But creativity does go hand in hand with imagination and a certain freedom of thought. Unruly handwriting shows that you are willing to explore these things.
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Elizabeth
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I have always had terrible, terrible handwriting! It was constantly criticized by my peers and teachers throughout school. One friend thought it looked like spider webs. Yet, (not to sound boastful) I have always been a good artist. I can draw and paint realistically and have a knack for craft-like projects. On exams in college, I tend to do very well at essay questions and prefer them over multiple choice/fill in the blank type questions. Oh and I am also left-handed. I always hear that left-handed people have bad handwriting, but this is not always true. I had a friend in high school who had excellent handwriting and he was left-handed.
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Sandra
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Elizabeth – the point that I have tried to make is that “ugly handwriting” does not necessarily suggest negative connotations. Your handwriting history helps to prove that handwriting that departs from the norm can also show originality and creativity. Thank you for sharing this.
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Grace
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I suffer from “ugly handwriting.” My teachers from younger grades never really understood it because I always aced the handwriting packets and tests. I was always the best at cursive, but only when I knew that my handwriting was the media that was being graded. As soon as I started creative writing, even essays if I started getting into it, my handwriting would no longer be a priority and would slip away into who knows what. It looked awful! People still ask me all of the time why my handwriting sucks so much because I’m the probably the most artistic kid in my school and I’m always winning stuff with my drawings or being featured in local art shows; if I consider the handwriting as art though it always turns out great. For example calligraphy or when I am trying to write in a specific font for a poster. At one point I had an English teacher who said that if a paper was written with “ugly handwriting”, and if even one word of it was illegible she would automatically give it an “F” and move on to the next paper without any further thought. Imagine the time I had to spend on each paper! Did I mention we were required to write in cursive and with a pen? I had to do one or two copies for each written assignment. One where I got into writing mode and poured out with my awful, grisly, yet natural handwriting, one where I copied it in my best cursive, and often another on which I copied it the second time because I had messed up in the all mighty and permanent pen. The teacher also hated white-out and believed that the paper should not only be readable (which was already a horror to me, no matter how reasonable), but should also be presentable and even slightly beautiful. And all of the trees that had to be cut down to accommodate this treacherous work? I won’t even go on..
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Sandra
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Hi Grace
Interesting that your genuinely creative work was carried out with your “Ugly handwriting!” Clearly it allows you greater freedom from the constraints of perfection. And I have always thought that perfection puts a dampener on creativity.
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Ken
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I’ve tried to improve my handwriting but i feel so restricted and confined not to mention it takes so long to write out a sentence. Probably the most memorable moment is when I tried using an ink pen in primary school and my teacher politely explained to me that calligraphy pens were great writing instruments when your handwriting is nice, however I should consider using a regular ball point pen. I supposed I was too naive to feel insulted then, I look back and have a laugh tho.
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Katie
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Im 13, and i have such awful handwriting, that i struggle to read it back. Ive always been told i have bad handwriting, in year one, my teacher said ” you have such bad handwriting, but your writing is so imaginitive i dont want to stop you” but in year 7, my new head teacher said i have “the worst handwriting ive ever seen”… If i write with a pencil, its much neater, i dont care anymore, its my handwriting and if people cant read it, they dont really care what i;ve written.
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Sandra
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Hi Katie
As you probably read in my blog – it’s possible for bad handwriting to be indicative of some sort of skill or talent – in your case imagination. Even so, while your handwriting is still undergoing a formative stage, (and it does so until you are about 18) I would suggest that you pay a little attention to it by writing more carefully so that you can get into the habit of writing more legibly. After all, it’s all about communicating, isn’t it? And writing badly per se is not the most helpful of attributes. My blog post was not intended to encourage bad handwriting but to give a glimmer of hope to those with irreversibly ugly handwriting.
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Christina
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I have pretty bad handwriting and I’m a girl. I’m also an artist. Im going to be in a portfolio class next year. Its pretty hard to get in.
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Sandra
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My point exactly, Christina – handwriting that doesn’t conform to the conventional standards often shows individuality and creativity. Many creative people have less than perfect handwriting. They often show individuality and they tend to break the molds of convention like Picasso did. And by the way, he had awful handwriting!
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Camilla
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Hi! I have an ugly handwriting that is like a code to me. I.ve spent lots of years studying and i´m the only one who can understand my notes. once my teacher gave me a zero on an exam question because of my handwriting being “disastrous and unreadable” but I got an A anyway cause i was good at the rest. It always feels like people in group work take it for granted that I should have great handwriting because I’m a girl.. Boy are they surprised…
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lana
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I have always been ashamed of my ugly handwriting compared to my other friends at school! But after reading this article, I now understand that this really qualifies my nature of being, my eccentric life and deep thinker which does not fit in todas society, but a futurisitc one!
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Sandra
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Hi Lana,
I’m glad you realize that you don’t have to feel ashamed of your handwriting. However, that does not mean that you should neglect your handwriting completely and allow it to degenerate. Remember that legibility is of the utmost importance. A certain amount of individuality is fine but I would not suggest going overboard so that your handwriting takes on undesirable elements. Be true to yourself and your handwriting will take the direction that is right for you.
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Rachel
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My friends, professor and colleagues always define my writing like a child’s handwriting rather that an adult while my family says that my writing is like run over by chicken feet. I don’t have any problem with my ugly penmanship probably I got use to it, way back in high school when I tried to make my writing much more readable than before by writing all in capitals. But I ended having trouble when taking exams were I must write properly by applying the usage of big and small letters, wherein I have no choice but to write with my old penmanship. Then I resolve it by always using a sign pen. It helps me a little but not that good enough.
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renea
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I am glad to know that there are people like me out in the world. My handwriting is so bad that I shake when I pick up a pen. My fear is that I hate writing when other people have to read my writing. I wish there was help for me
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Sandra
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Hi Renea
I understand exactly how you feel and so do many other people with poor handwriting! Slowing down may help to some extent. But if it really bugs you why not try a course in Calligraphy? You could also contact Kate Gladstone who runs a handwriting repair service. Just Google her name and I am sure you will be able to contact her. Good luck!
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Someone
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Haha this post completely describes me, sadly.
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anum
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I always get low marks in exams due to my bad handwriting I tried to improve it but it never works. What the hell I will do in university :@
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Jenna
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I get failing grades and then make a poor mark for the semester, cos the teacher can’t read it.
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Sandra
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The first requirement for writing is to be read! Even if you have ugly handwriting it can still be legible. I think if you tried to write more carefully and a little slower you may be able to write more legibly. Don’t give up and good luck!
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Sam
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Honestly, I can’t explained what I have gone through trying to be stable in my hand while writing. And the funny part of it is, it is not improving as i grow – instead it’s getting worse. It will take me hours to write something that could be written in a few minutes if I actually want it to come out well. Writing examination is another menace, because the time is not usually enough to put down all I would have wanted to, I end up writing less than what is required….Just like you said, It’s an unfair world becos if such incomplete examination is used in measuring my capacity, it is absolutely incorrect….I prefer oral examination because I am much more eloquent and creative in speaking than writing…..I love presentation, because no matter how little the time is, i usually maximize it and get the best. Thank God my adviser knows this….
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