Articles & Insights into the world of handwriting.

Ugly Handwriting and what it Says about You

Ugly handwriting

A horrified look at ugly handwriting

What Ugly handwriting says

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 often have a lot to them and the writers of these handwritings are never boring or colourless.

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 bad 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 school examiner that my handwriting resembled a garden – a garden with weeds that went this way and that.

And so people with poor handwriting always find themselves having to apologize:

“Please excuse my handwriting as I’m in a hurry” or “writing in a moving car” – or “galloping in a horse and buggy” and so on.

Confused and ugly handwriting

(From Ugly Handwriting Secrets)

People with poor handwriting hardly received much encouragement from the classical graphologists either. They were a rather stuffy lot in those days who found it difficult to countenance bad 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 handwriting. 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. Besides there are degrees of “ugliness” too.

Nevertheless there are some interesting things that we can point out.

The Meaning of Ugly Handwriting

Ugly handwriting is rather complex and it can mean a lot of things. One of them is that it can point to a certain amount of emotional baggage.

Many ugly writers tend to be emotionally volatile and ugly handwriting can show a lack of stability or even bad temper as we can see in the sample above.

At worse, ugly handwriting can show hostility, belligerence or even cruelty as in the handwriting of Jack the ripper. But these are extreme cases.

Mostly, ugly handwriting can be an indication of low self-esteem or insecurity; but then 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.

The Consolations of Bad Handwriting

For those of us who are members of the club of ugly handwriters – and I’m right there with you – 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 too. In fact, many writers, authors and journalists have handwriting that goes in all directions suggesting that they seem to be scanning the skies with their antennae and pulling in ideas from everywhere.

Sometimes irregular handwriting can be a sign of eccentricity. Paganini the great violinist belonged to this category and he was certainly creative and undoubtedly eccentric.

So, if you class yourself as a writer with bad handwriting don’t despair! Some of the worst handwriting has belonged to writers who were highly creative or exceptional people in one way or another.  Beethoven and Napoleon had awful handwriting and Freud’s handwriting was quite ghastly!

The Secrets finally Exposed.

Ugly Handwriting SecretsMany geniuses, creative artists and highly intelligent people had ugly handwriting – so if your handwriting is bad, you are in very good company.

The handwriting samples in this book belong to some famous geniuses and you will see how to identify the unmistakable signs of intelligence and creativity in their handwriting.

They may have had poor handwriting but just think about what those people achieved. Picasso had very bad handwriting and look at what happened to him!

Pretty inspiring isn’t it?

That’s why you should never let your poor penmanship undermine your confidence.

Don’t stick with any false perceptions about yourself. And don’t allow other people to make unfounded judgements about you based on your bad handwriting alone.

Take a look at Ugly Handwriting Secrets Revealed and find out how to take the myths and misery out of your ugly handwriting. It may give you new respect for yourself!

Comments

  • Sandra
    December 30, 2014

    Anubis

    September 6, 2013 at 12:20 am | #

    I ‘m one of those ugly handwriters , mine is terrible, to the point that just my mom can read some of the stuff i write, luckily now days all i do is print things out. About the aspects of ugly writers I share some, I’m creative, ( love plastic arts) very independent and sometimes very different from the rest . I can’t stand limits

    Reply
    Sandra

    September 7, 2013 at 7:28 pm | #

    Hi Kristen
    I can only sympathise! Maybe you should let them read this post!

    Reply
    Jen

    September 9, 2013 at 3:30 am | #

    I’ve struggled with my handwriting my entire life and it is still ugly. However, I am currently a successful professional artist. I’ve been drawing and painting obsessively since I was in middle school. I think because I am a heavily visual learner, I’ve learned to express myself through pictures rather than words and so shied away from writing. To me, drawing and writing are like using two different parts of the brain. Instead of concentrating on the appearance of the letters I’m concentrating on what I am trying to say. If I treat words like a picture I can write beautifully but it takes a very long time to write. My handwriting became a source of agony in college, when I would have to immediately type all of my notes after class so that I could read them later. However, that proved to be a valuable habit as it allowed me to retain the information by having to transcribe it and interpret the meaning of my own scribbles.

    Reply
    Talal

    September 10, 2013 at 9:36 pm | #

    My 10th grade English teacher told me to get calligraphy classes because he could barely understand my reports. I didn’t.
    My Arabic is actually worse, but I got no complaints in school.
    I also cannot understand anyone’s handwriting whose style differs from any printed type.
    I’m a trainee lawyer now, and I fear the day I have to read a judges handwritten ruling, which is not uncommon in Bahrain.

    Reply
    Jenny

    September 12, 2013 at 5:04 am | #

    I’m positive kids in kindergarten have better hand writing then I do. I’ve always been better at science and I want to go on to become a physician one day. I normally just tell myself that I was born to fit the stereotype that “all doctors have bad handwriting.”
    I never thought that my insecurities could be a cause, though. Interesting.

    Reply
    Sandra

    September 12, 2013 at 10:08 am | #

    Hi Talal
    Thank you for your comment. Your story is rather different from the usual complaints about unreadable handwriting. How interesting that you find it difficult to read individualized handwriting. Maybe you should ask the judges to type- or at least to print!

    Reply
    Sandra

    September 12, 2013 at 10:17 am | #

    Hi Jenny
    In actual fact, not all doctors have bad handwriting – as you know. And “bad handwriting” is also not necessarily a sign of insecurity. There are so many other reasons that could range from carelessness to innovative ability or creativity. The trick is to find out which one applies to your own handwriting!

  • Sandra
    December 31, 2014

    Kawaii

    October 18, 2013 at 2:50 am

    My handwriting is awful, but I do draw very well. It is almost as if I draw my words instead of writing them, which causes my handwriting to go everywhere and end up looking crazy.

    Reply
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    October 22, 2013 at 5:13 am

    […] So if you have an ugly handwriting read on – there may be more to your scrawl than first meets the eye.https://graphology-world.com/ugly-handwriting-and-what-it-says-about-you/ […]

    Reply
    NecroBadger

    October 23, 2013 at 3:52 pm

    My handwriting was never great. It peaked at about ten years of age, and gradually deteriorated as I went through high school, sixth form and university, as classes became more intense. Lecture notes had to be scribbled faster and faster, so aesthetics were sacrificed for speed and now ten years after graduating my handwriting is still a dreadful, inconsistent mess. I’m also pretty useless at art.

    I love creative writing though, and my trains of thought can thunder along in directions I can’t control. When I write with pen or pencil I become frustrated because it feels like my hand simply can’t keep up with my brain, so I use a word processor instead, leaving my handwriting to rot further…

    Reply

    Doris

    November 4, 2013 at 10:59 pm

    I have a bad handwriting. My teacher almost failed me in the exam because he can’t understand my handwriting. Good thing he let me to rewrite it. Whenever my boyfriend reads my love letters his eyebrows always cross just trying to understand what is written. Everyone is telling me I should have taken a medical course and be a doctor because it fits with my handwriting. But even though they are having a hard time reading my handwriting they still take effort to read my comics. My hobby is to make a comics. I just love to draw.

    Reply
    Sandra

    November 7, 2013 at 8:05 pm

    Hi Doris
    Even if they don’t get your handwriting they clearly love your comics and drawings. Good luck!

    Reply
    Sandra

    November 7, 2013 at 8:08 pm

    Hi Badger

    Clearly there’s a creative element there! Don’t give up on it.

    yvonne

    November 8, 2013 at 3:29 pm

    ever since i was in primary school , i have been scolded and told by teachers and friends that my handwriting is very untidy, illegible.
    just not long ago, my english tutor called to tell me about my analysis test. she added by saying my handwriting was ATROCIOUS and she emphasized on that word so sharply. it hurts 🙁 i felt so guilty idk why.. i hope i am not the only one.

    Reply
    Sandra

    November 8, 2013 at 4:31 pm | #

    Hi Yvonne

    I can sympathize as my handwriting is also far from attractive!

    I see you type without capital letters. I can only presume that you do that with your handwriting too. If so, I would suggest that in particular you should use the capital letter whenever you write the personal pronoun “I.” It’s important for confidence and self-respect.

  • […] new comment was a furious and very blue observation about a certain blog post I had written and the language was […]

  • Rif
    April 15, 2015

    Im in 8th grade right now. I recently failed on my french test because my teacher couldnt see what it said. I read all of the comments on this post and most seem to be good at drawing, Im not however but I am creative and I dont fit in very well. What should I do if im not good at drawing, How do i express myself without writing, thats what I wonder?

    • Sandra
      April 19, 2015

      Hi Rif

      Creativity comes in many different guises. You can be creative without having the ability to draw. However, it seems that you are having more of a problem with communicating.

      The purpose of writing is to communicate your thoughts. If your handwriting is not doing that for you, you need to look at it carefully and try to see how you can make it more legible. Possibly you should try to write more slowly or try to print. Or ask a teacher for help. Clearly you are able to type. Explain this to your teacher and explain that you have the knowledge but that you need some help with regard to presenting your work.

      Good luck

  • Duck
    May 12, 2015

    Handwriting is just an archaic skill I never cared enough to pick up, it doesn’t say anything about me besides that I prefer to type.

  • Sibulele
    May 28, 2015

    I have terrible inconsistent writing, it can look like something was written by different people on different parts of a page. A friend in high school once described it as “looking like a drunk spider was dipped in ink and tap danced on the page”. I don’t care what anyone thinks anymore, I won’t apologize for being me and my handwriting is part of that.

  • Donna
    September 7, 2015

    I’m definitely independent. Problem is people often mistake my bad handwriting for being uneducated or stupid. I’m no genius but sometimes being underestimated is a beautiful thing. Sometimes. Curious though, I write better with pencil, calligraphy and fine-point pens so maybe there is some mechanical issue with me also.

  • Dreaming Blog
    October 5, 2015

    I hate to say this post is dead on. I have horrible handwriting. I have low self esteem, can get upset easily, etc. I try to avoid writing whenever possible though.

    • Sandra
      October 6, 2015

      There are often good things to be found in a handwriting even when you think it’s horrible.

  • Cassie
    March 6, 2016

    I have bad wrtting and it lowers my self-eesteem when people talks about it. So all I do now is print. Yet despite of my bad hand-writting my teachers and friends said I’m talented at writting stories, essays and drawing. so don’t be judgemental to us we are trying our best.

    • Sandra
      March 6, 2016

      Cassie, there is often an element of creativity in ugly handwriting because it shows some type of individuality. Focus on following your dreams and your handwriting will mature and take care of itself.

  • Jordan
    March 12, 2016

    I think bad handwriting means you read by shape not by text, maybe hinting that your thought process is different to the standard person – maybe it could also mean that you are lazy and rush things?

  • […] Ugly Handwriting and What It Says About You […]

  • Laura
    May 11, 2016

    Both my sons have atrocious handwriting. I feel like an awful mom for not pushing them when they were little to write neatly.
    One day, I was watching a program on penmanship and they said that children that use playdoh, leggos or any hands on activities using their hands have better coordination and handwriting.
    I was freed! I hated leggos and playdoh. I couldn’t stand the mess they made. I know that sounds awful but it’s true. I did teach my sons many good things and today they both are successful. But they have awful handwriting. I will share this with them and I’m sure it will be a comfort to them to know that they are “special.” Boy, now I don’t feel so bad!

  • Lynn
    May 15, 2016

    My handwriting in print form is not what one would call beautiful. It’s more of a glorious mess no matter how hard I try to make it beautiful and elegant,like I’d like it to be. However,I definitely am one of those people who likes to be my own self and not who or what society/other people,think I should be. I have found that most people don’t like that about me any more than they like my so-called handwriting…but I wouldn’t change who I am for anything,so maybe I should stop trying to write like someone I’m not,as well. (:

    • Sandra
      May 16, 2016

      Stay true to the real you and your handwriting will do you credit!

  • sahar
    August 11, 2016

    i have a very bad hand writing but u will be shocked to know that i am very good at calligraphy.Usually teachers or staff take my help to write in calligraphy on certificates but when i write normally or on notebooks or during exams,i can’t do calligraphy at that time as it takes time and patience – so my normal handwriting is very very bad.i m also confused.can u explain about this..and as u told that ugly hand writing people are creative and all..so yes i m good at drawing, painting,and art and craft and also a ranker.and i had chosen the creative field also..ARCHITECTURE

  • Dustin
    August 25, 2016

    Interesting read. I have an unorthodox pen grip (thumb wrap quad grip) and form there researched neatness and came across this post.

    I always found it strange that I have messy writing/printing. I mean, it’s not too bad… However, I’m a very artistic person and I’m a writer. I have excellent hand eye coordination, am skilled and painting and drawing, and I have a real appreciation for aesthetics. I seem like a perfect candidate for neat writing lol. Alas, I can’t make it pretty. My style is always changing too which is a quark of mine. I find new more interesting ways to write a letter or word and slowly switch to that style.

    Anyway, thank god for typing! Haha…

    Artistic, physically coordinated writer… Messy writing. Seems like a cruel joke from above =p

    Thanks for the read! I enjoyed it.

  • Michael
    September 30, 2016

    Hi I have always had very bad handwriting but for awhile I took up calligraphy and was decent at it, I suppose the reasoning behind this is because im really good at art, drawing, sculpting and I think a lot, what I mean by that is im really into philosophy, debate topics, science, mystery school teachings, open minded things technically im a free thinker and ive always kind of set myself outside of the fence while watching others have expectations of themselves and the expectations others had on them, me on the other hand I have never cared or worried about what someone would think about me other than in school how teachers would grade my messy essay. Ive been told by a psychologist that it could be that I think faster than I can write things which I have noticed that may be true because since I took computer classes I have always been very fast at typing. ive always told others to look at it in a positive way. But I still in some cases would like at least moderate hand writing because I like to write in my journal and to my wife so it would be handy to have at least decent handwriting and I still look for tips in improving.

    • Sandra Fisher
      September 30, 2016

      Hi Michael
      Thanks for describing your problem with ugly handwriting – with so many interests it does seem that your thoughts may be running away with you! Even your typed message would suggest this. I suppose you’ve tried to slow everything down a little. Maybe a return to calligraphy would help.

  • Charles
    November 10, 2016

    Hi I have always had bad handwriting many of my classmates tried to help me but still, I have bad handwriting. I am not good at drawing in fact, I don’t draw, my drawings are very ugly but I am very good at math and physics and top in the class.

  • Freyja
    May 14, 2017

    Hi!
    My parents (and my brother who has impeccable handwriting and amazing artistic skills) all day my handwriting is bad (though my parents are being hypocritical. They can read my writing but I can’t read theirs). All my teachers at school say my handwriting is really neat and they can read perfectly when compared to other teenagers in my age group!
    My artistic skills are goodish though I’d like to get better. I love to write stories and I’m currently stuck at writing then beginning for one of my stories. I’m also an intermediate level equestrian. My teachers also say I’m very creative.

    This has totally boosted up my self-esteem about my writing and I’ll definitely be forwarding this to my friend.

  • Abigail
    May 31, 2017

    Hi same here, i have ugly handwriting, and had always been reminded of it.. but i always find myself to have new ideas and unconventional. Sometimes people dont always welcome new ideas though.. its a sad thing to see copycats, which discourages new ideas. I could be eccentric though. Creative sometimes comes with eccentricness, w/o eccentricity there won’t be new ideas.

  • Donovan C
    November 23, 2017

    From elementary school to junior high I used to mimic and adopt other people’s handwritings. What I found weirder is that I was attracted to the ugly ones, however I was capable of handwriting beautifully, so my teachers and my mom said and saw on various times. There was this one kid with what I remember had the ugliest handwriting I had ever seen and that I mimicked and adopted. I’ve never known why I used to do that. I think maybe it had to with insecurities and self-esteem, but not sure. It stopped in High School and I have never done it since. I have made modifications to my handwriting throughout the years but it feels more normal to me than what I used to do as a kid. I wish I found out more about it.

  • afsd
    January 12, 2018

    “Picasso had an ugly handwriting and look at what happened to him!”

    Wasn’t he depressed at some point?

    • Sandra Fisher
      January 15, 2018

      Yes he was but he overcame it with his forceful personality and his profound originality which found expression in his art.

  • Misty
    January 12, 2018

    I’m a special education teacher with bad handwriting. It negatively effects my self-esteem. I’d really like to find a support group and or some help with it.

  • Rob Taylor
    February 6, 2018

    This helped a little; Some people hold a pen between the first and second finger. I tried this and to my surprise saw improvement. Might be partly due to changed focus. Also, my hand felt less strained. I’ve always wondered if hard worked hands is an issue.

    Rob.

    • Sandra Fisher
      February 7, 2018

      Hi Rob
      It is possible, I think, for hard-worked hands to have an effect on the handwriting. If one is accustomed to doing heavy work with one’s hands it is likely that there would be a little difficulty adjusting to finer work such as handwriting.

  • Anthro
    May 5, 2018

    Hmm I have a bad handwriting also but I am an artist with a keen eye for detail And I noticed here that many comments reveal an artistic sensibility. The link between these two characteristics is thus certain

Comments are closed.