How to Celebrate National Handwriting Day
Writing a letter
E-mails and texts can be so impersonal. These low fidelity forms of communication pale in comparison to receiving a handwritten letter or note. Even if you write a note for someone you live with, it will be special because we rarely see each other's handwriting these days.
Jot a quick note in your neatest handwriting to send a cheerful message to a loved one, friend, coworker, or anyone you randomly meet during the day.
Write a shopping or to-do list
While smartphone apps are great for the grocery store (Anylist is my fave), sometimes, the store has terrible cell service and the app doesn't update. A handwritten shopping list is a tried-and-true way to make sure you don't forget the milk and the eggs.
Also, stick to your New Year's resolutions by writing down your tasks daily, breaking up the big goals, like improving your handwriting, and breaking them up into small, bite-sized tasks that can be done today, like doing 10-minutes of warm up oval exercises or studying Spencerian letterforms.
Take handwritten notes
Instead of screenshots, voice memos, AI summaries, and saving presentation slides, have a pen and paper handy during meetings to jot down essential takeaways and important bullet points.
Handwriting notes involves a mental ability known as "disfluency," which breaks down and reconstructs data in a way you can understand better. In his book, Smarter, Faster, Better, Charles Duhigg writes about a research study that took place in 2014, "The students who forced themselves to use a more cumbersome note-taking method—who forced disfluency into how they processed information—learned more."
Keep a small pocket notebook on you at all times. You never know when an important life lesson or observation might present itself!
Start a journal
A journal might sound like a long-term commitment but it's a lot easier than you think. Just simply write whatever is on your mind. It's a private, safe space for you to explore complex emotions, re-live memories, and express yourself without judgment. If you open up and leave it all out on the page, I think you'll be amazed at the result.
Write Pangrams
"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog," is the most popular pangram, which is a sentence that uses all the letters of the alphabet. Since it uses all the letters, it's an ideal activity to practice handwriting and to test how well a pen writes. The sentences can seem wacky and funny to read out loud, which is part of the appeal in writing them.
For example:
- When zombies arrive, quickly fax Judge Pat.
- Amazingly few discotheques provide jukeboxes.
- The five boxing wizards jump quickly.
- Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
You can also make up your own signature pangram. Although each pangram must contain all 26 letters of the alphabet, you can organize them any way you wish to make new, interesting (and potentially hilarious) combinations.
Post a handwritten quote on social media
Handwrite an inspirational quote, take a picture, and post it on social media. Or, if you can juggle writing and recording at the same time, share a video of you writing the quote. It's a fun way to share your interest in handwriting with the greater pen community and connect with other pen pals online. Be sure to include what type of pen, nib (if applicable), and ink you are using in the post description. Pen geeks like us always want to know this information. Add the hashtag #nationalhandwritingday to join in the celebration.
Write a "currently inked" list
If you are a fountain pen enthusiast, chances are you have quite a few colors of fountain pen ink, which might be an understatement. To keep record of all your favorite ink colors and how they look in your various pens and nibs, create a "currently inked" page in your notebook. It could be as simple as listing the name of the pen, the nib size, and the corresponding ink color. Get as creative as you like by swabbing the ink or doodling a pattern.
Buy a new pen!
What did you expect? After all, we're a fine writing and stationery shop. Of course, we would suggest treating yourself to a new pen on National Handwriting Day. Not that you usually need an excuse to get a new pen. But, here it is! If you're looking add some calligraphic flair to your handwriting, we suggest browsing our calligraphy pens, or trying a stub, or flex nib fountain pen.
Also, you can "pay it forward" to the new generations of writers by gifting an affordable, starter pen to get them hooked on the enjoyment of handwriting.
Create your signature style
In today's digital-driven world, we don't have as many opportunities to sign our name. However, signing our name is still reserved for the most important tasks like legal documents, applications, and picking up the restaurant bill. Do you feel that your signature is an accurate reflection of who you are? Practice signing your name so your "John Hancock" looks presentable and befitting your personality.
Practice by taking a page out of someone else's book
If you're looking to improve your handwriting, guide sheets and practice books can be rather repetitive and lacking in excitement. Add some excitement to practice time by re-writing pages from your favorite book. The content will keep you engaged as you are copying it word-for-word. Plus, copying will teach you how to write like the author by focusing on sentence structure, grammar, and word choice.
