The Longhand Our Ancestors Wrote
For generations, we have learned a great deal from diaries and journals left behind by our ancestors. Not only have we gathered insight into ancient civilizations from the memories they penned, but also the horrors of war from the likes of Anne Frank and Holocaust Survivor Helga Weiss. There’s so much we could only guess at were it not for the words penned in notebooks, on bits of scrap paper, and going further back, papyrus.
Writing longhand is proven to be a better method of not only retaining information. It’s also more effective for delving deeply into our innermost thoughts. What a shame it is becoming a lost art. Schools no longer require the tedious process of teaching small fingers to form the curvaceous and connected series of letters with which we form words on the page without benefit of a typewriter or electronic device. I can’t even imagine trying to get my thoughts down on paper by printing them. Handwriting is laborious enough!
Certainly, most of the letters, if written in accordance with the rules are somewhat close to the printed version, but what about the many which are not? Already tasked with deciphering ancient languages and variations on those currently still in use, Anthropologists who were never taught longhand will be at a further disadvantage in trying to first translate script into letters and words they can compare to previous translations.
More to Handwriting Than Mere Words
I recently saw a post which contained a photograph of a handwritten note bemoaning the loss of the art of handwriting. The person who shared it, in my opinion completely missed the point. She got caught up in critiquing the person’s penmanship, saying the letters were formed incorrectly. And yet, I found the note easy enough to read despite its imperfections. Frankly, the fact that we all modify the “perfect” version of the letters is what keeps handwriting analysts in business.
The beauty of handwriting (aside from the obvious speed with which we can convey thoughts compared with printing) is in our ability to read and understand it in many of its personal and unique variations. It’s even possible to discern the approximate age of the writer, especially given samples from various points in their lifetime. Like everything else, a combination of practice and changing motor skills affect the way we form the letters. But someone who never learned handwriting won’t be able to see that.
I suspect they can turn future translating over to computers. But I find by reading what someone wrote with their own hand, I gain some insight into the person themselves. It’s more than the words they choose. It’s the spacing and weight of the letters from one place to another. The letters are a roadmap to emotions, to fears, and to the changing pattern of their life. While a computer might be able to translate the words, will it be able to reveal the subtle nuances evidenced by how the author wrote rather than by what they wrote?
Creativity Captured By Slowing Down and Letting Words Trickle Rather than Flood
Many authors and artists use longhand to capture ideas which lose a great deal in the typing. I myself use it for writing exercises, and the Morning Pages I adopted after reading Judith Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way”. I can honestly say doing so has opened up places in myself which might otherwise have remained closed and shuttered. If nothing else, writing longhand seems to stifle the internal editor and allow words to flow freely and without conscious direction.
Some authors even write their entire first draft longhand. I’m still of a mind that says it would be too much work to write it all out, then have to type it up afterwards. It isn’t something I’d entrust to another person either. My raw words, though not so much any more, were for no one’s eyes but mine. That’s still true of my Morning Pages, though more and more of them end up either here or on my blog site, simply because the process opens up my creativity and thus, gives me ideas for posts like nothing else, save meditation has been able to do for me.
Improved Cognitive Skills With Longhand
Psychologically speaking, science has proven students who use longhand for note taking retain a great deal more than those who type their notes into a laptop or tablet. In an article published by NPR a study by Pam A. Mueller and Daniel M. Oppenheimer was cited. They explained that the cognitive process required to select out pertinent pieces to write rather than typing the lecture verbatim was a key factor in improving data retention. In my own experience, transcribing my handwritten notes has proven to be a study aid in and of itself.
Certainly, we are able to get more down by typing than by writing, but it seems that’s only valuable if the purpose is to enable us to regurgitate facts and figures. Critical thinking skills go out the window when all we’re doing is typing what someone is saying word for word. Back in the day, that would have been called “transcription”. People were paid to listen to tapes and type exactly what was said. Nowadays, we have an app for that.
Kicking Communication Skills to the Curb
When this topic first came to me, I saw how much people would lose when they could no longer discern 
the nuances in words written by hand. I see now there’s so much more to it. In losing what was, for generations a basic skill, we are perhaps damaging a key factor in cognitive development. The process of thinking or hearing, translating, then writing activates several areas in our brain, thereby turning mere words into ideas, pictures, and most important, possibilities.
If you ask me, it’s a further hit to our already mangled communication skills which have replaced face-to-face conversation and telephone calls with emails, texts, emoji’s and the shorthand which includes things like “LOL”, “OMG”, and “SMH” which are insidiously creeping into our spoken language as well. Call me old fashioned, but some things do NOT improve communication at all.
My only hope as that there are enough young adults who will take the time to teach their own children to read and write longhand and keep both the art and the skill alive in an education system which seems to value excessive paperwork over allowing teachers to do what they signed up for; to teach.
About the Author
Sheri Conaway is a writer, blogger, Virtual Assistant and advocate for cats. Sheri believes in the Laws 
of Attraction, but only if you are a participant rather than just an observer. Her mission is to Make Vulnerable Beautiful and help entrepreneurs touch the souls of their readers and clients so they can increase their impact and their income. If you’d like to have her write for you, please visit her Hire Me page for more information. You can also find her on Facebook Sheri Levenstein-Conaway Author or in her new group, Putting Your Whole Heart Forward.
Be sure to watch this space for news of the upcoming release of “Life Torn Asunder: Rebuilding After Suicide”.
