Speed: The Pace of

Writing speed increases naturally with practice, but no amount of practice can make a fluent writer out of a sluggish, overly self-conscious, or dim-witted person. The speed with which the person moves comfortably over the page reflects the tempo of his thinking, of his actions and his reactions. Is he quick or slow? His personal pace is a measure of his spontaneity and will affect his writing rhythm and form quality. Curves are more easily written than straight lines, angles or broken lines, and tall letters flow more quickly from the pen than tiny ones. Dots are hard to make at high speed and tend to turn into commas and dashes. The urge toward spontaneity slants the writing to the right, whereas hesitancy draws the hand back toward an u p right or leftward slant. Pressure that alternates naturally is more quickly and smoothly performed than extremely light or heavy lines. Be on the watch for a change of writing pace in individual words where the writer has instinctively hesitated; also look for an increase in pace as the writers emotions are aroused. Key words and phrases have a way of changing pace and position subtly on the page. The faster the writing the more the size tends to increase and the strokes to reach out and forward, but no matter how fast, the writing should not lose its legibility, its power to communicate.

Slower than Average Writing generally appears conventional, over-elaborate, or clumsy. The stroke is overly controlled or hesitant, or can be tremulous, jerky, and retouched. The connective forms are more often arcades and angles, and the slant is upright to leftward. Letters are very small or very large, their shapes narrow or sprawled out. Ends of words may increase in size, loops are enlarged, and there is much made of details and flourishes. The pressure is either barely sufficient or ex-

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