> but reading a fluent writer's handwriting ("unconstrained", as they call it in the article) is nigh impossible.

It is when you are starting out, but it's not so bad once you get used to it. The best way to learn to read Chinese handwriting is to learn to write Chinese handwriting, and I don't just mean practising writing by hand, but to work through a textbook aimed at teaching cursive Chinese.

This book is a good introduction in English [0], and if you are comfortable with Chinese only, this book is excellent and also far more comprehensive [1].

Once you've gone through those books, you'll be able to read most handwritten stuff without too much struggle.

0: https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Cursive-Script-Introduction-P...

1: https://www.amazon.cn/图书/dp/B00C907XM2

If you can make the time but don't have the temperament, go somewhere where they will beat it into you Chinese-style, because there really is no other way to memorize the thousands of characters necessary to be proficient in Chinese.

Please, some practical advice:

Learn your stokes and always follow stroke order. Each stroke has a rhythm, and each character has a composite rhythm. Rhythm is an excellent mnemonic device.

An hour a day, everyday, is enough to make good progress. Half an hour twice a day is better. Your nervous system forms pathways between sessions, not during, so you want to optimize for that, not the session itself.

Throw out the flash cards, and throw out the books of pseudo-etymology. Find a book of pen calligraphy, and focus on strokes, positioning, balance.

Here's one place to start:

http://www.amazon.com/Learn-Write-Chinese-Characters-Languag...

And once you're further along:

http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Cursive-Script-Introduction-Pu...