The perfect handwritten note can help get your message across in a powerful way! Today, we’ll talk about seven tips for writing an effective note, from minding the margins to finding your perfect handwriting style.
Did you know: all sorts of businesses have popped up that offer to write the perfect handwritten note. Basically, these businesses argue (accurately, wouldn’t you agree?) that email inboxes are saturated. Also, people are used to receiving standard typed notes in their (real-life) mailboxes, so those don’t stand out. Nothing attracts more attention more than a handwritten note.
I feel delighted when I receive a handwritten note for several reasons. First, a handwritten note says “I took precious time out of my day to go the extra mile for you”. Second, a note is tangible, which is special because most of our communication takes place over screens. Finally, a note gives you a peek into someone’s personality via their handwriting. (Think about it: we all know people whose handwriting we have never seen!) Today, I’d like to offer seven tips for making your own beautiful handwritten note for someone to treasure. We’ll start with a video, then recap everything in a written article.
How many times have you gone to write a note only to find that the pen doesn’t start as you expected it to? To prevent surprises (and to warm up your hand), begin your note with some squiggles on a scrap piece of paper. Those squiggles will serve to prepare the pen and loosen up your hand a bit, too!
We all have a few handwriting styles at our disposal. Likely, you can write in neat print, messy print, neat cursive, messy cursive, and/or “pursive” — a mix of print and cursive. Choose the handwriting style that you excel at writing. It’s all about embracing what gels best with your skillset and personality. If you’re not sure what works best for you, experiment! (You can try out several different handwriting styles in TPK’s Improve Your Handwriting Course.)
Here’s a trick from the Improve Your Handwriting Course: make an exemplar of your very best handwriting. Then, pull out that exemplar anytime you want to go the extra mile to write a beautiful note.
Neatly-written notes on blank paper always pack the most visual punch. But, how do you make those notes without guidelines? My trick: a light box and lined paper. For 5″ x 7″ notes, I use this (free) printable with slant lines. For larger notes, I just tear out a piece of notebook paper and put it behind the paper I’m working on. Then, I place the lined paper and the blank paper over my light box and write!
A quick disclaimer: this technique only works with light-colored papers. Also, it’s not impossible to create eye-catching notes on notebook paper, especially if you’re pressed for time or don’t have a light box. Just look at the beautiful note below:
Nothing makes a note look busier than writing that extends to the edge of the page. If you can see that a word will get uncomfortably close to your page’s edge, hyphenate! Remember that you can add a hyphen after any syllable in a word and resume writing that word on the next line.
While pens with medium or wide tips can make lovely writing, it’s easiest to achieve delicately beautiful handwriting with a fine-tipped pen. For the ultimate thin stroke, write with a fine-tipped fountain pen. (I often use a Pilot Falcon pen with an extra fine tip.) In the comparison note below, you can see the difference between an extra fine-tipped fountain pen and a Pilot G2 05 pen:
It’s almost impossible to avoid typos in handwritten notes. Since you can’t click the “delete” key when you’re doing things by hand, run with your mistakes! Instead of crossing a word out, acknowledge the error in your note and keep on writing.
I hope these tips help you next time you want to create an eye-catching handwritten note! Remember that handwritten notes can get you far. Among other things:
Feeling inspired? Implement these tips this weekend by writing out recipes, a birthday card greeting, or a quick thank you for someone! Thanks so much for reading, and happy writing. 🙂
Warmly,
PS – Love handwriting? You can click here to see all of TPK’s handwriting-related articles. Note that there is an affiliate link (Pilot Falcon Fountain Pen) to Goldspot pens in this article.
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