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Comment by 0culus | Hacker News Reader

On a personal note, I really despise handwriting documents. Writing for an extended period inevitably results in uncomfortable cramps in my hands. Thus, I typeset whenever possible (markdown -> pandoc -> LaTeX -> pdf). However, for taking notes in ad hoc situations, handwriting is so much easier. I recently got the 10.5" iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil and I _love_ it for writing notes for classes especially. I also keep a stack of engineering paper around for doodling out problems I'm working on. At least for me, handwriting is still an integral part of my workflow even if it's not my favorite.

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> On a personal note, I really despise handwriting documents. Writing for an extended period inevitably results in uncomfortable cramps in my hands

You want a fountain pen! And for anyone else interested in handwriting more, I recommend taking up fountain pens as a hobby. It's fairly inexpensive to get into, as hobbies go (though of course you can spend unhealthy sums at the top end), and I have done a lot more handwriting since I took it up, to generally positive results.

The main reason they are so nice is that, compared to a pencil or especially a ballpoint pen, a good fountain pen requires very little pressure to write with, and so results in much less pain and cramping in the hands. I can write multiple A5 pages with a fountain pen and not even notice, whereas with a ballpoint pen my hand starts to hurt after about ten sentences.

I actually have two Lamy Al star pens, though I haven't really used them as much as I'd like. Thanks for the reminder!

I recently saw an old-time guide to handwriting; it started with the explanation that many people have too much tension when they write (even in facial muscles) and that the right way is to be very much relaxed so the writing just flows out. (Naturally, it implied using a fountain pen, not something you have to press down to write.) This coincides very much with other "right ways" I know about in dancing and other physical activities - too much tension is a very common habit among people.

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