1. A portable writing apparatus, comprising: a writing instrument carriage to hold a writing instrument; an actuator system coupled to the writing instrument carriage to move the writing instrument carriage; and a controller electrically coupled to the actuator system, wherein the controller includes logic that when executed by the controller causes the controller to perform operations including: receiving input data describing a user's handwritten characters; and controlling the actuator system to move the writing instrument carriage in response to the input data, wherein the writing instrument carriage recreates a shape of the user's handwritten characters.