WEEKLY UPDATE: How to Celebrate National Handwriting Day

Summary: When and what is National Handwriting Day? And do we even need a holiday to help us celebrate this seemingly dying art? Thanks to Dianne Morr at Moor Creative, I've learned a little something about it that, today, I'd like to pass along to you ...

Tomorrow is National Handwriting Day! Remember when students were graded on "good penmanship"? With computer labs in most elementary schools, and college and extended learning courses offered online, good penmanship seems almost archaic. But handwriting is still important.

When do you use handwriting—whether it's "good" (legible) or not? From to-do lists to thank-you cards to heartfelt letters sent long-distance, there are any number of ways you can still wield the ink pen. And any one of these is a good start to recognizing tomorrow as a special day.

Here's how I plan to celebrate, myself: My writer's group is getting together for our usual short story discussion. We like to meet at a coffee shop and sit down face-to-face, even if we've been sharing our stories electronically beforehand. Just to punctuate the special date, I'm going to take all my notes via pen and paper instead of on my laptop for once. Afterward, I'll be headed to StoryStudio Chicago for their write-a-thon—an experience set in an amazing coffee house-like atmosphere that's loaded with coffee and tea, books and magazines, and wall-to-wall writers and poets cranking out new material and tweaking their older stuff. I haven't decided whether I'll be cranking or tweaking (perhaps a little bit of both), but I do know I'll be doing it the old-fashioned way, no matter what: writing.

For ideas on how you can celebrate National Handwriting Day (which, fittingly, falls on the birthday of John Hancock), follow the above link to read an e-How article that's geared toward parents but can inspire anyone. (Oh, and my favorite suggestion is #5!)

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