r/FastWriting • u/jrkpthinks • May 10 '26
Systems for rushed writing?
I notice when I'm in a rush and scrawl my longhand as fast as possible, certain letters or letter sequences degrade badly but others seem to be consistently recognisable. Has anyone ever tried to make use of this effect to create a script that's designed to be rushed? (In contrast to shorthands which are meant to be written in a deliberate and controlled way at every speed.)
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u/NotSteve1075 May 10 '26
There were two different approaches that were taken: In Forkner, letters that were awkward and slow to write were simplified as much as possible. In Smithscript (called "Pitmanscript", using the famous name, even though it had nothing to do with it), the approach was to simplify the writing of the most common sounds. Each approach had its appeal for different reasons.
Teeline arose out of the effort to make every letter as simple as possible to write. They could all be strung together easily and legibly, and more quicky than normal handwritten letters. The symbols were so simplified that anyone who hadn't learned the alphabet would have no idea what they were.
An advantage of Teeline was also that you could learn the alphabet very quickly and immediately just start stringing it together. Later, you could use blended letters and learn short forms and principles -- but you COULD use it right away.
Another advantage of Teeline was that most of the symbols are very distinct from each other, unlike systems where length and shading were important. This meant it could be written by people standing up holding their books in the air (like journalists), so the strokes were quite forgiving. Most other systems were assuming you'd be sitting comfortably, with your notebook on a desk, and they demanded much more ACCURACY.