Downstrokes
Put pressure on the downstroke to create the thick line. Start at the top and pull down so the
pen’s tines open up.
 
Upstroke
For the upstroke, loosen your grip. This will help to reduce the pressure you put on your nib. Glide upwards gently.
 
Cross Stroke
For the cross stroke, like the cross bar of a ‘t’, loosen your grip, as you would with an upstroke and go gently (lefties may prefer to go the opposite way here).
 
Exercise: Combine the down and upstrokes, to create the shape below. Go over the gray, following the direction of the arrows
 
Left Handers
Pointed nibs are symmetrical, so it doesn’t matter at all if you are left-handed. What does matter is whether you are an ‘overwriter’ or an ‘underwriter’. If you’re a leftie, you’ll know what this means!
 
If you are an underwriter, as shown in the first picture, and keep your wrist straight when you
write you will be able to work in the same way as a right-hander. The only difference is that you
will need to turn the page clockwise, so that the pen will be in the correct position, as shown in
the picture below.
 
If you are an overwriter and bend your wrist over the paper, as shown in the second picture, you will have to reverse everything, so wherever I talk about thick downstrokes, you will be doing thick upstrokes.
 
Start at the bottom of the letter and push the pen up, applying pressure on the nib to create
a thick stroke. Go lightly on your downward strokes for the ‘thins’. You will have to experiment moving your paper around, trying different nibs and finding a comfortable position so that the tines can open and the pen will work well for you. If your grip allows you to exert even pressure on both tines of your nib, then you are holding the pen correctly.