Some meaningful practice

Christmas decorations are up so I decided to get some practice in today.  I like to warm up as it does make a difference.  I'm not always religious about it but I do try to get the movements down before I dip my nib in ink.

Start with a pencil and ovals, first horizontal, then vertical.   Moving on to the strokes--basic ones then the compound curve movement.  THEN I get my pen and do the same thing over with the ink.  I concentrate on making smooth movements, nothing jerky.  Takes about five minutes to get in the groove.   Also, I envision my arm from my elbow down to be one unit.  The ONLY time I move my fingers is a little pinching movement when I'm at the very end of an oval if I want a little flick at the end.  Otherwise, it's all big muscles that control what's going on on the page.  
I then start with letters or numbers in my comfort zone.  It's important for me to start practice with things about my writing that are comfortable.  It's so easy to hammer away on what we do wrong and one can get depressed pretty fast if that's the only place you concentrate.  A bit like training a dog really, if you see him getting frustrated, go back to what the dog knows and end there.

I always try to end on a positive note.