Rachelle Delaney

Last night I was discussing handwriting with some coworkers. Specifically, we were talking about how some schools no longer teach cursive writing. This got some people quite riled up — people who think that writing in cursive is a valuable skill. Personally, I LOVED learning cursive. I remember how exciting it was to be finished Grade 2, knowing that in Grade 3 you’d learn to handwrite. THEN you’d be really grown up.

Which isn’t to say I think we need to know cursive writing. Mostly, I think it’s interesting to see human skills evolve, and sometimes disappear.

I do think, however, that writing by hand (whether in cursive or print) can be very helpful for writers. A wonderful fiction instructor once told my class that the best way to find a character’s voice is to write in it by hand. And I’m not sure why this works, but it does — at least for me. Whenever I’m having a hard time nailing a voice, I’ll put the laptop aside and start scribbling monologues. For some reason, it helps. I recommend it.

It also gives me the excuse to buy fabulous notebooks. And wouldn’t life be awful without those?