1. A method for indicating preferred character handwriting styles in a pen-based computer system that includes an input screen, a stylus for engaging the screen to input handwritten text to the computer system, and a recognizer for recognizing handwritten text, the method comprising the steps of: activating a character style preference editor; displaying a plurality of variant character styles for a selected character, each variant character style representing a distinct style of writing the selected character that is recognizable by the recognizer; and receiving inputs indicative of the likelihood that a handwritten character input with the stylus will have a form analogous to a selected variant character style and setting a use probability factor associated with the selected variant character style in accordance with the input.