Prior to the invention of the printing press, writing was done by hand. Ever since the invention of written language, there have been people to write things down. These people were called scribes.

During the 1840s, a guy named Platt Rogers Spencer developed a style of penmanship. After publishing The Spencerian Key to Practical Penmanship in 1866, his script style of writing became the de facto style taught in American schools and used in business. Although his script is largely out of style, Spencer is still known as the Father of American Penmanship.

Every person has unique penmanship. It’s part of our personality. It’s as unique to a person as their fingerprints. That’s why handwriting experts are able to determine who wrote specific words based on samples of their writing. Some handwriting is more legible than others.

Technically, handwriting and calligraphy are different. Calligraphy is a formal art form—basically like painting words instead of casually writing them. Thankfully, calligraphy is art you can read. Although, the primary purpose of calligraphy is to be beautiful, not to be legible.

I pride myself on having good handwriting. For me, the key is taking your time and having the right pen. I prefer to use a Uni-Ball Micro 207—it writes smooth and with a fine tip. When I was in fifth grade, a teacher taught us how to do calligraphy. You had to have special pens for that, too. And I’ve since forgotten how.