Pen and paper?

normal paper, but my writing is very small (I like it that way) and colour is important. So I use Uni-ball Signo 0.28mm Gel Pen that I get mail order from Jetpens.com, US$25.00 the 10 colour set, they obviously come from Japan. I tried the 0.18mm but apart from very special paper I makes little difference and is actually less fluid. I guess that makes me peculiar too, but what else is new?

wei1xiao4 My teacher and my parents sometimes took my hand to teache me how to write a word when i was a little girl. And they also said "no good, do again"=不好，再写 trevelyan, do you know how to say "left-handed" in chinese? 左撇子zuo3pie3zi=left-handed 我是左撇子。wo3 shi4 zuo2pie3zi.=I am left-handed.

Cheapo bic pens and yellow legal pads. My writing is ugly, yet legible, as my choice of writing tools would indicate. On the plus side, they're cheap and what I usually wind up writing with in real world situations.

Photocopied template of a kid's 2*2 grid for 8 characters in a row and three dashed lines above to write the pinyin. 7 rows of characters - 2 pages photocopied onto A4 and using a cool Muji aluminium clipboard. Using Staedtler triplus fineliner in assorted colours. Also use the Chinese Writing Master software to show me how it's done first.

I got some gridded paper (well, technically printed out some .pdfs of grids) and try to fill up a 100 character grid each day, even if it's old characters I'm trying to work on, and just a couple new ones. I'll write sentences, questions, single characters or sentence fragments. I always have one or two Moleskine note books on me, and write in them, too--lined, not gridded, and with whatever pen I have on hand. It helps me deal with real-world writing skills when I won't have grids. :)

I also use Moleskine - a hardback gridded one for "focused" practice, and a small, non-lined, non-gridded one that I keep in my purse for random notes and those "few minutes before my next appointment" practice times. The gridded one helps me keep things straight, so I try to learn new characters using that first, and the plain notebook gives me real-world practice. Any pen is fine. After a two year search as a freelance writer for the perfect writing pen, I'm addicted to "Uni Power Tank 1.0." Love 'em.

Brooke, I googled Moleskine and found this youtube video: Funny that someone would actually make a video of this, but this guy's penmanship is quite nice.

Also came across this nice Chinese arts website, with lots of character writing/painting aids: Character/Calligraphy Copying Books

Mechanical pencil so that I don't need to find a pencil sharpener, and scrap paper.

Calkins - Thanks! Wow... it is amazing that someone would take three minutes to make a video of flipping through pages of their Moleskine. I've heard some folks are obsessed with that brand... I just use them 'cause they work well for my needs. Btw, the video brought up another question. I'm assuming most of us here practice writing left to right, correct? I have found some Chinese books written up to down, right to left, but to me that just seems hard to do (and I've found other books written left to right, so I'll stick with that). How 'bout the rest of you poddies?

Just normal pencil or pen on regular notebook paper as I scribble away every character I can as I sit in the beginner/elementary course that my classmates take and I have to as well, as that is what the Masters of Chinese studies requires of me... so I improved my writing greatly. Didn't think there is a best way to get the feel down, just to do it is what matters most IMHO.

this youtube video shows that it's possible for some people to have a Moleskin fetish. But his penmanship justifies those expensive notebooks.

I wasn't familiar with those Moleskine notebooks, but it seems like many others posted videos of their notebook pages. Weird, if you ask me. I always thought moleskin was something you put on your feet to prevent blisters.

Moleskin is also a fabric used for clothing, but these books aren't made of moleskin. Hmmmm, nothing like wearing an outfit made from the fur of a mole!

I start with pencil on graph paper, write a new character a dozen or so times, then at a later date will trace over it with a sharpie marker. With a sharpie, I find I'm able to get more of that brush-stroke look.

If you can't find a notebook with the grid specifically for writing characters, this is a nice way to create your own PDF with a character writing grid: Chinese Graph Paper Make your own notebook...print out as many sheets and get it bound at Kinko's. I think I'll start my own notebook tonight!

I often hear people talk about using some kind of squared paper, and writing each character a few or many times to learn it. What I don't hear about is those people ever doing anything else. Nor do I hear about any transition from that single character shape approach, to writing out whole phrases. It's as if writing an isolated large character from memory in a square, is an end in itself. Are web sites and books giving us the wrong idea about learning to write, by only mentioning the very first drawing step? Thankfully a couple of people above have indicated doing both kinds of writing, which is a bit more realistic. I wonder if it's possible to skip the squares and "just write" from day one, or would that do damage and slow down the learning? Not enough has been written about these approaches.

Calkins the Chinese graph paper is great and I am fascinated by the "writing in water book" on the website you posted. It looks like fun! Has anyone tried that one? When I first arrived in Hong Kong, I took a Chinese calligraphy course just for fun. I am an artist, so I was a little offended when the teacher took my hand to teach me how to make a stroke. The teacher did not speak English except for "no good, do again". I lasted about a year and barely made any progress. I can only remember my teacher smiling once the whole time. They take this stuff seriously!

@brooke, I'm left-handed, so I find writing up-to-down actually a lot more convenient than left-to-right. Avoids smudges, although it can be tough to make the characters all the same height without any point of reference.

Why do I get "We'r sorry. This is no longer available" when I try to play Calkins' ? It seems like you guys were able to watch it. Because I'm in Britain? Hmm.....