# How Do You Hold Pencils?



## mserychic (Oct 2, 2004)

I was reading Dear Abby and a girl was complaining about her family giving her flack for holding a pencil the wrong way. I'm always getting comments because I guess I hold pencils weird too. The real question is why are people noticing how others hold pencils in the first place.. let alone complaining about it.. but I'll go with the funner do you hold pencils the right or wrong way? :b

Wrong way:


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## sonya99 (Sep 5, 2005)

I hold my pencil the "right" way hehe. I even avoid holding the pencil too close too the tip...i got the impression my teachers disapproved of it because...i dunno maybe it got your fingers more dirty since you're possibly making contact with the graphite? hmm


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## Drella (Dec 4, 2004)

From the age of, I guess, 4 until college, I held pencils between my middle and ring finger. I always had people commenting on it, so I started holding pencils between my index and middle finger. I'm probably still doing it wrong... I don't know!


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## lyssado707 (Oct 29, 2004)

Lord knows. I don't even know the "right way" lol. Gosh I remember waaaaaaaay back before kindergarten my mom and I went in to meet the teacher (all the kids had to do that first i think), and she showed me the "appropriate" way to hold a pencil cuz she saw me grab it with my fist. If you can write okay then I don't see how it matters


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## sean88 (Apr 29, 2006)

I hold a pencil like a retard. Totally wrong. lol


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## Inturmal (Jan 15, 2006)

In second grade my teacher made me watch how the only other left-hander in class held their pencil, because I was apparently holding it wrong (resting it on my ring finger). All the other kids had a good time watching the freak kid learn from the other freak kid, who happened to be a girl. :mum Obviously, I couldn't let a girl show me up, so I changed my writing style, and now write with my feet.


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## coldmorning (Jul 4, 2007)

I've always used the normal way to hold a pen. But I just tried writing using the wrong way and I actually think my handwriting looks better.


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## leppardess (Nov 8, 2003)

I guess I hold pens/pencils the 'right way' but think about it... if everyone did everything the 'right way' (if there is such a thing), this world would be boring. 

Kind of like when my grandmother taught me how to crochet. She held her hook like a pencil (between her thumb and index fingers, with the hook facing down). I hold it like a drum stick, hook pointing up. She yelled and made fun of that for a long time, saying that I was crocheting wrong. 

In my mind, if it gets the job done, who cares how it's done :stu


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## TorLin (Nov 14, 2006)

i took three pictures of the ways i can hold a pencil or a pen.

1.









2.









3.









so is there a right way on how someone should hold a writing instrument. I believe it should be the person's preference, it is his /or her hand, and it should be his /or her pick.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

Apparently, I hold my pens the right way since nobody has ever commented. I tried holding it the "wrong way" as pictured with it between index & middle finger and it feels totally wrong to me.


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## Kelly (Dec 12, 2003)

I read that in Dear Abby too!

When I was a kid, I used to get laughed at by the other kids for the way I held my pencil/pen. My poor little uncoordinated self could never do it the "right" way.

The way I hold it isn't listed, but is closest to torlin's third pic, only I use only my thumb, index, and sometimes the very tip of my middle finger. The other two fingers aren't used at all. Technically, since I only use my thumb and index finger, I don't really need to use my middle finger at all. 

I wonder if this is one of the reasons why I've never been able to handle chopsticks.

I wear my watch on the "wrong" wrist too.

But I agree with Leppardess. It gets the job done, doesn't it? :stu


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## PlayerOffGames (Mar 19, 2007)

mserychic said:


>


what the...how can writing like that feel comfortable? :fall


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## R (Jun 13, 2006)

mserychic said:


> I was reading Dear Abby and a girl was complaining about her family giving her flack for holding a pencil the wrong way. I'm always getting comments because I guess I hold pencils weird too. The real question is why are people noticing how others hold pencils in the first place.. let alone complaining about it.. but I'll go with the funner do you hold pencils the right or wrong way? :b
> 
> Wrong way:


What the hell are you doing!?!?!

anyway I'm a lefty so I hold it that, ... um ... way


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## daaaaave (Jan 1, 2007)

I hold mine the wrong way, but I don't care. I like to be different in my pencil holding ways. I hold it with the eraser part pointing up and away from me when I think it is supposed to be pointing towards you. The right way always feels uncomfortable to me when I try it.


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## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

i hold my pencils like in torlin pic #2. i couldnt hold it like youre holding it. i just tried it :lol


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## GraceLikeRain (Nov 9, 2003)

The "wrong" way, but I have always found it easier to write that way. :stu I remember a teacher nagging me about it when I was in elementary school. I didn't see what the big deal was, considering I was told I had such nice writing back then.


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## David1976 (Nov 8, 2003)

My teachers always gave me grief about holding the pencil the wrong way... my writing is like chicken scratch anyway.. hehe.. notice how my pen is leaning forward..


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## barnabas (Apr 24, 2007)

I used to hold it correctly, but not anymore. According to my mom, that's why my handwriting went from extra neat to barely readable.


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## srschirm (Jun 25, 2006)

This is a funny thread. I hold mine like pics 2-3 in Torlin's post.


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## mserychic (Oct 2, 2004)

moksha said:


> what the...how can writing like that feel comfortable?





R said:


> What the hell are you doing!?!?!


That's what I'm saying.. I get that all the time :lol Just how I've always held it so the "right" feels really grody :lol


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## Gena320 (Jul 1, 2007)

I too hold the pencil like in Torlin's second picture....I've always held it this way. I can't hold it any other way, it doesn't feel right any other way. But the manner in which I hold it creates a great deal of pressure on my middle finger (where the bottom of the pencil rests) and on the lower section of my thumb. I have a permanent bump in my middle finger due to the way I hold it. It's quite bothersome and I can't write for extended periods of time without feeling pain and discomfort in my hand so I try to write only when I have to. I'm thankful I'm not in school anymore, because the only way I learn is by writing things down over and over again on paper. I used to abuse my poor little hand alot when I was in school. 

I think I hold it the "right" way, but the "right" way can be quite uncomfortable sometimes too.


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## leppardess (Nov 8, 2003)

I just remembered that when I sprained my thumb, I had to hold my pen like mserychic does. I got used to that for a while but for some reason, I switched back to the way I hold it now :con


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## katelyn (Jul 11, 2006)

barnabas said:


> I used to hold it correctly, but not anymore. According to my mom, that's why my handwriting went from extra neat to barely readable.


Same here. I think one day I just decided to change the way I write or something, and now I have more trouble writing and my writing is messier.


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## lilly (Mar 22, 2006)

I think I hold my pencil/biro the "right" way but I still write messily - see it didn't even help. Also when I wrote more when younger I developed this lump thing on my middle finger - it's still there but not as bad as I don't hand-write very much - only lists; letters; cards - maybe when I get the inspiration to write something.
I wonder why other people's writing is so neat!


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## Chrysalii (Jun 24, 2006)

I probably hold it the wrong way. Last time I cared was in elementary school when they gave me one of those little gripper things to make me hold it right. But I still use 2 fingers to hold it, That's probably why I have a hard time with those forms that have to be pressed hard because they have 2 copies to be made under it.
Thumb and pointer holding the sides with the rest of the pen[cil] resting on that area between those two. 
They just gave up on me with that little gripper thing.


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## drearyquery (Nov 28, 2005)

mserychic said:


> Wrong way:


I tried that position out and I'm liking it :yes I think I might try writing like that from now on.


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## Your Lover Scrub Ducky (Jul 26, 2004)

Either with my teeth or pic 2 or 3 in Torlins post.


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## coldmorning (Jul 4, 2007)

drearyquery said:


> mserychic said:
> 
> 
> > Wrong way:
> ...


I actually like it as well, after having tried it. Unfortunately, I almost never write except on a computer nowadays. I think the only times I use a writing instrument is when signing credit card receipts. Is this sad?...I don't know.


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## mserychic (Oct 2, 2004)

drearyquery said:


> I tried that position out and I'm liking it :yes I think I might try writing like that from now on.


I'm going to start a revolution. Wrong writers unite! :lol


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## jtb3485 (Nov 9, 2003)

I hold my pencil like Torlin's pic 3. I know that pic 2 is technically the "right" way but I've never felt comfortable holding it that way. I also bend my index and middle fingers and tightly grip the pencil in my hand as if it's gonna slip out or something. That probably puts unnecessary pressure on my hand.


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## starblob (Oct 23, 2005)

p


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## whiteclouds (Mar 18, 2004)

I hold my pen like Starblob, except a little looser.



I don't see the big deal either. I have neat handwriting and a talent for drawing. Maybe people should look to me as an example, LOL. I tried those rubber "correction" devices--very uncomfortable, cramps my hand. I say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. :yes

They way you hold your pen is supposed to reflect your thought process, like whether you're a "right-brained" person or a "left-brained" person. There's no real "correct" way to hold it, but some ways are more popular than others, I guess.


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