Before writing full Chinese characters, basic strokes are important. Take one sheet of paper, write several horizontal strokes, and do not turn these strokes into characters yet. Watch how the brush enters the paper, how the line width changes, and how the stroke finishes. Although such an exercise may seem boring, you can find almost all the information a learner needs. These include pressure, ink, speed, control of the brush tip, and the way the brush interacts with the paper.
In full Chinese characters, the component strokes each demand close attention. A horizontal stroke is not just a line going from left to right. Neither is a vertical stroke simply a line going from top to bottom. Even a dot, hook, or turn stroke has a start, middle, and end. If you skip the detail of each individual stroke, the final character might appear disorganized or unbalanced, although the character shape may seem to be correct.
Stroke practice also prevents the brush tip from crushing down. Pressing too heavily on the brush tip spreads the line too widely and removes the middle. Similarly, brushing too fast can produce a stroke that is too pale, broken, or unsteady. Working on a basic stroke allows learners to find and fix errors before adding the pressure from stroke order, placement of the radicals, and character balance.
After writing several rows of horizontal and vertical strokes, you could include a small change in pressure. Let the brush enter the paper, gently press slightly to create a thicker line, and then ease the pressure to finish. This helps train your hand to control the thickness of a line. Without it, lines may look the same, and a whole character looks flat, as if it were drawn with a pen rather than a brush.
When the individual strokes have been learned, following stroke order becomes easier. If you are still focusing on the act of writing on each and every stroke, it will be harder to remember which line needs to be drawn first and where this line should be placed in relation to the next stroke in the practice box. Once a learner feels more familiar with horizontal, vertical, dot, hook, and turn strokes, it is more likely that stroke order will come to be understood as a road through the character rather than a rule to memorize.
To evaluate your own work, focus on one of the individual stroke types and look at only that stroke as you scan the page. Search for the cleanest entry, a straight middle section, and a steady finish. Do not judge the entire page at once. Make only one change in the next attempt: use less pressure, reduce ink, slow down, or allow more space between each stroke.
Individual strokes are important because a well-written character is easy to read for the hand. When considering whether a Chinese character has a nice shape, first ask if its strokes have a clear start, middle, and finish. This question will make character learning practice more straightforward, more honest, and easier to repeat.