Study tip: Use whiteboard to improve hanzi writing memory

[Shelley]

26 minutes ago, AdamD said:

Sometimes I smash out the most embarrassing god-awful rubbish just to build a rhythm

 

I understand this, I do it too, I write a few of the character carefully and thoughtfully, then I do some quickly just to try and build up smooth flowing rhythm as you say then I do a few carefully again, I alternate a few times then I try to write as if I was writing English, trying to ignore the process and just go for it.

 

 

[Tomsima]

Stroke order is different for different styles, and in different periods throughout chinese history.

 

As for writing good looking characters, I feel like the Chinese thought process is different from when chinese people learn to write English. I see chinese people writing notes in beautiful calligraphic English, and think how strange it looks. Thus the opposite is true: a chinese person sees a foreigners writing in kiddie characters and feels uncomfortable.

[imron]

11 hours ago, Hofmann said:

the original regular script stroke order is usually the easiest

Do you perhaps know of any books that serve as an introduction to the important features of regular script?

[Hofmann]

21 minutes ago, imron said:

Do you perhaps know of any books that serve as an introduction to the important features regular script?

I think there's a recent thread about a recent book about that.

[Wippen (inactive)]

7 hours ago, AdamD said:

yours is a fantastic idea, and I'm tempted to go out and buy a tiny whiteboard just to try this.

I think I end up being more accurate with my placement of the hanzi. I also think about it more and try not to make mistakes. If I make a mistake I have to wipe if so it is in my interest to get it right first time. Also I stand from a distance and then revise and recite it so it obviously has to be accurate. If you use paper scraps you know you can just take a new one and re-do it.

[abcdefg]

On 2/16/2018 at 11:47 AM, DavyJonesLocker said:

I use a small white board to practice writing at home. About 800mm x 600mm I think. Allows me to sit on the sofa with a coffee practicing writing for 30 to 40 mins a day.

 

I used this method too. A private teacher who came to my house for lessons bought the whiteboard for me and left it behind when we eventually parted ways (in 2009 or thereabouts.)  

[ChTTay]

When I did practice writing Hanzi (because I had to for University) I found knowing the stroke order usually made writing the character flow better. Once you know the order in general, I found it much easier to guess how to write some easier characters which, in turn, made writing flow much more easily. With this, my speed of writing also increased. 

 

I also found that, at the level I was at at that time, our teachers could usually tell if you’d just made up an order. I don’t think they ever said it was “wrong” per se but certainly said it didn’t look right. 

 

I dont really see the point of setting out  to learn something (like writing hanzi) then knowingly learning it incorrectly. 

 

As someone else mentioned, I also don’t get any opportunity to write anything anymore apart from my Chinese name. A shame really. Next year I want to pick things up again.