From personal experience, it is not recommended. I have suffered deeply from it and cannot change my habits for a long time. Although newspapers and waste paper save money, they are only suitable for real beginners to practice strokes and occasionally practice single characters. Even after you have a little foundation, it is recommended to switch to raw edge paper and rice paper. Why?
First of all, because there is ink on the newspaper, some places are unevenly filled with ink when writing, or there is no ink at all. There is still a difference from the paper on which calligraphy is actually written later. Since there is a difference, the brushwork is different. different. In addition, there are words and pictures on the paper, which are easy to interfere with, making practitioners unable to see their own writing skills, advantages and disadvantages. You may even be practicing while reading the news in the newspaper. This is a bit like cat fishing. , always distracted.
Secondly, I don’t care or feel sorry for the paper in my heart, so I don’t write seriously and carefully, and I don’t cherish words and ink like gold. Rather, it is very easy to just pick up the pen and write at will. Practice the same thing with rough edges or rice paper that has been written on. I can't bear to throw it away and there is still more or less blank space, so I use every opportunity to squeeze out the space to write. This waste paper is actually only for practicing single characters and brushwork. And you should also try your best to write carefully, pay attention to the composition, and your mentality must be like a good blank paper to write on.
Because another more important thing in calligraphy is the distribution and layout of the text in the entire calligraphy work, that is, the composition. Regardless of regular script, running script or cursive script, they all have their own rules and regulations. A very important point in composition is white. There are other words on waste paper, and newspapers are full of words and pictures. It is difficult to see the "white", so it is difficult to practice good composition. So if you look at how many people use waste paper to practice calligraphy on newspapers, they will appreciate it and look at their own strengths and weaknesses, but they will all be thrown away after writing. I have been practicing for a long time, but I haven’t noticed much progress. One day the words you write can be sold for money, but it will just be sold as scrap paper to make money.
Finally, every time I use good paper to come up with calligraphy works, I find that I am very nervous. My hands even started to shake, and I didn’t know where to start. I also found many problems when writing. For example, the height of the first character of each line was different, and the lines were twisted and messy. They might be slanted upwards to the right, or twisted toward the lower left corner. There is no beauty in it. The characters may be large or small, slanted or slanted, etc. If one line fails, the rest will become more and more crooked and chaotic.
This feels like you are talking eloquently in private, or to familiar relatives and friends. Then you are suddenly asked to give a speech on a large podium, with hundreds of audience members, even dozens, sitting underneath. Then you realize that you don’t have enough ink in your stomach, your Mandarin is not good, and you have no confidence, so you can’t get on the stage at all. Then he starts to slip, stutter, don't understand what he is saying, and may even be unable to hold back a sentence. The same goes for practicing calligraphy on waste paper such as newspapers. When you write, you feel as if your pen is written with energy and ease. When the feel comes, you quickly take out a good piece of paper and prepare it, but the result is still as mentioned above, which is not satisfactory.
That’s why there is a story that many people have heard: a young man has been practicing calligraphy with waste paper for many years without success, and has stopped moving forward, wasting time. So a calligrapher suggested, "Use the best and most expensive rice paper to practice calligraphy. You may write better and improve faster." This made him make a big leap.
This is similar to the saying, "There is no rehearsal in life, every day is a live broadcast." It has the same purpose, that is, to be at your best and cherish every day.
“Efforts that are not half-hearted are just perfunctory.” So friends, understand it. Only by writing on good paper can you correct your attitude, see your shortcomings, and see your strengths and weaknesses. Only by your own rules can the effect of practice be more effective. Let yourself pay attention to it, force yourself because you cherish paper, try your best to use yourself, write with your heart, think carefully, and constantly sum up your experience to make progress. When you can use paper well and feel at ease and have no distractions, I believe you will be able to reach a higher level, and in the end you will be able to truly release your own organization and mind.