Young Writers Society

What Handwriting says about your characters (and you!)

Before the age of printing presses and fancy-shmancy inventions of the like, books, stories, poems, and everything that was written were written by hand. Handwriting is a beautiful thing; one might say that certain styles of writing are an art form all in themselves, like calligraphy. With such a beautiful art as their roots, it’s no wonder that many writers still have a soft spot for the hand-written-word.

It’s understandable why a writer might want to nudge his or her readers into appreciating the complexity of this beautiful art, but how does one incorporate handwriting into a story or a poem to achieve maximum affect? This is where an advanced knowledge of graphology might come in handy.

According to Wikipedia, graphology is the

study and analysis of handwriting, especially in relation to human psychology.

This means that handwriting can say a lot about your character (or you!) in terms of their personality, abilities, mental/emotional state, physical state, or their character.
If you want to describe a character’s personality trait in a very subtle way, describing their handwriting might be a good idea (depending on whether writing really belongs in that scene). Handwriting details can also be very good imagery details, as everyone can picture what handwriting looks like, especially when it’s described in detail. Handwriting can also be very poignant in.

How do you know what words to use to describe handwriting to achieve a desired effect? (or how do you analyze your own handwriting?)*
[This is not to say that your handwriting says anything definite about who you are, this is just a fun activity!]

Take a look at the slant!
If your character’s writing slants to the right, they will enjoy being social, and will be open to new things.
If your character’s writing slants to the left, will be more introverted, or, if they are right-handed, they may be conveying a more defiant side.
If your character’s writing doesn’t slant, they will be more guarded with emotions, rational, and practical.


Now let’s look at the shape!
If your character’s letters are rounder, they will be more artistic.
If the letters are more pointed or sharp, your character will be forceful, curious, intense, and/or clever.

How about that size?
If your character’s handwriting is large, they will be more outgoing, confident, and/or loud. It may also mean they love attention.
If your character’s handwriting is medium, they will be well-adjusted and adaptable. (That doesn’t make for a very outstanding character trait in my opinion, and saying “His handwriting was of average size” just doesn’t sound too special.)
If your character’s handwriting is small, they will be shy, studious, and/or meticulous.

Look at dem Loops!
Wide “l” loops: relaxed and spontaneous.
Narrow “l” loops: restricting of themself, tense.
Wide “e” loops: open minded, enjoy new things.
Narrow “e” loops: skeptical of others.

Dot your i’s…
If the dot on your character’s i is:
- High over the i: They will have a great imagination
- to the left of the i: they will tend to procrastinate
- A circle, or bubble: they will be child-like or fanciful
- Slanted, or slashed: they will be impatient, self-critical.
-Right over the i: they will be detail oriented, and organized.

And cross your t’s…
If the cross on your character’s lowercase t is:
-long: they will be enthusiastic, stubborn, and/or determined.
-short: they will be lazy and/or show a lack of determination.
-right in the middle of the t: they will be self-confident
-At the tip-top of the t: they will be ambitious, optimistic, and/or will have a good self-esteem

Open O’s?
If your character’s O’s are open, they will be talkative, social, and have little secrecy.
If they are closed, they will be private and introverted.

perceive the pressure!
If your character’s handwriting is heavy, dark, or very strong, they will take things seriously, and/or be committed. They may be uptight. Heavy handwriting also indicates a character bursting with energy.
If your character’s handwriting is light, they will be sensitive and/or be empathetic. They may also be weak, sick, or tired.

See the Speed!
If your character writes quickly or messily, they will be impatient, and disorganized.
If your character writes slowly or evenly, they will be more patient, organized, methodical, and thoughtful.

Other:
-Writing that is bunched up, out of alignment or otherwise different from the rest of the writing may be a lie.
-Schizophrenia: When the slant varies within a sentence, or within the same word frequently, it can be evidence that the person may not be in continual contact with reality.
-Alzheimer’s: Handwriting deteriorates as mental faculties deteriorate. Handwriting may change to irregular or altered letters, coupled with wavers in writing. The writing will also slow down.

Have anything else to say? Post your handwriting as well as your interpretation of it below and tell us if you think this “graphology” has any credibility, or is comparable to you!
I suggest writing the alphabet, “sally sells seashells down by the sea shore” and maybe a few other sentences. Feel free to describe the quirks you know your handwriting already has that wasn't mentioned above.

This is very interesting. I think I am the outgoing and energetic writer. Basically all of the first on every list are me!! You now know somewhat my personality.

Other:
-Writing that is bunched up, out of alignment or otherwise different from the rest of the writing may be a lie.
-Schizophrenia: When the slant varies within a sentence, or within the same word frequently, it can be evidence that the person may not be in continual contact with reality.
-Alzheimer’s: Handwriting deteriorates as mental faculties deteriorate. Handwriting may change to irregular or altered letters, coupled with wavers in writing. The writing will also slow down.

...Umm, that described my handwriting perfectly. I'm a schizophrenic with Alzheimer's who always lies? Yikes, and I'm only 16!!

I took a short course on Graphology.

A inner- loop in the O on the right says they are the secretive type.
The inner -loop on the left indicates self-deceit.

This one is my favorite-
If the small 'f's and/or 'g's and/or 's's take the shape of the figure 8 it shows fluidity of thoughts which is a trait mostly seen in writers or speakers.

I remember that in Pride and Prejudice, there was talk about handwriting.

I don't think slants are necessarily indicative of that... it really depends on whether you're a leftie or a rightie, as far as handwriting goes. My dad is a leftie, so his handwriting slants to the left, but that's because that's the way it naturally goes.

Also, I think handwriting is mostly for cursive... so, for those who don't know cursive, or were looking at this using their print samples, this might not be as accurate.

Peanut butter!

What was that @lostthought?

Well, if you ask me, peanut butter would be quite nice on a sandwich, no?

I suppose it would... but was that what lostthought was thinking? Who knows? Only lostthought.

I LOST MY THOUGHTS AGHHH!!

XD
So This is my cursive:

and this is my print:

sorry about the image quality. >.<

I make weird t's and my i's are dotted way to the right, I also do a weird H which isn't shown but it's just my own personal H of awesome. I slant to the right, and am too lazy to analyze my writing anymore.

Also the top two photos aren't any letter I wrote but one I wrote for a fictional character (my own hand writing though)!

@kingoflove21vher
Your writing is so pretty! I love the slant, it just makes it look so elegant. That letter is like a piece of art
when I write the word "the" or other words with the "th" combination, my h's just get lost. Example: That is how I write the word "the" normally.

My handwriting is unbelievably bad and barely legible (and lost me marks for my English exams). I may stick it up soon on this thread and see what criteria it fits.

My handwriting varies so much. I have an italics version, a neat non-italics version, a messy version, and then note version, which is full of random lines and dots and weird letters that only make sense to me. >.<