Contributed by Info Guru Aurora LaJambre

While not as high on the list of essential life skills as, say, knowing how to cook or budget your money, good handwriting implies quite a bit about you.

Straight lines with clean spacing show you’re precise, for instance.

There’s always room for improvement. These good penmanship tips will help you tighten things up so people can actually read what you take the time to write.

10. The pen makes the writer

Want to know one of the best kept secrets of good penmanship tips? If you want to have strong, sharp handwriting, you need a strong, reliable pen. Fountain pens are designed to make the written word look beautiful, but gel pens and rollerballs can do the trick to. You’re bound to put more care into every stroke when a pen that feels sturdy between your fingers.

9. Take your time

Your brain won’t forget what it has to say just because your arm is moving a little slower. If the words won’t stop flowing, scribble notes on a pad to be re-written neatly for someone else’s eyes. Think of how you speak slower for someone who doesn’t understand your language. For readers who struggle through your chicken scratch, write slower.

8. Quit squishing

Physical space on a piece of paper is not infinite, not even for love letters. So rather than squishing letters against each other to get out everything you have to say, trim your content. Be concise. Consider what you need to say and put it down in the clearest, simplest way possible.

7. Even spaces

Consistent spacing between characters lends order to each page. Imagine a collaged wall full of framed art, mirrors and others decorations, like the one above featured on Apartment Therapy. When one letter abuts the next the eye doesn’t know where to look. Reading becomes work and that’s the opposite of what these good penmanship tips are going for.

6. Mind your I’s and T’s

An old adage says to “Dot your I’s and cross your T’s”. Take this advice to heart and you’ll no longer leave loose ends on the page. A crossed T cannot be mistaken for an I and an un-dotted I won’t be taken for an L. No more chaos!

5. Ease up

Unless you have a legitimate reason to loathe your writing utensil – it stole your boyfriend or perhaps stained your favorite shirt – let it breathe. The harder you hold it, the more cramped your hand feels and the more strained your letters look. The objective is to have words flow into each other so reading them feels effortless. It’ll help to use a quality, personalized pen.

4. Practice uniformity

Remember how grade school teachers would have everyone practice the same letters over and over again on penmanship paper with only four or five lines per sheet? Train your arm to make dashes and loops consistently and your body will start to take over for your brain.

3. Sit up straight

Good posture is a sign of self confidence; it shows you’re ready for anything. The same is said of handwriting. Make an effort to straighten your lines. Backwards slanted words raise the low self esteem flag, and signals that you’re not as focused on the present.

2. Calling all arm muscles

Hand cramps and sloppy letters are like two peas in a pod. Take a look at your arm as you work. If only your hand and wrist is moving, you’re not writing so much as drawing words. This makes things harder than they have to be. Relax. Allow your fingers to guide a fine pen. Wrist drives the fingers and lower arm drives the wrist. Go team!

1. Turn off robot mode

It’s natural to focus more on what you’re saying than how it looks on paper, but falling into this zone is no good for handwriting. Re-direct your concentration to the words you’re forming, especially when making out wedding invitations or other meaningful notes. Consider the people who will have to read your notes and assume they’ll be in a hurry.