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I might have a solution for this, but it depends on what you do. If getting the peek is part of a bigger routine, and not just revealing the peeked, then that is another subject, which I left for the end. ( an example for that is: peeking the number of the cup under which the ball hides ) you can't go one ahead with that.

However, lets say that the routine you were doing was getting a peek, and then revealing it directly. Here, if you failed to get the peek, then go immediately into a one ahead routine. Get another person on stage and try to get the peek. ( always have different methods for peeking ). Its less likely that stuff like that happen. If it happened again, and the second person's handwriting was also horrible, then we have 2 facts:

1) its not your lucky day
2) you will have to act so calm about it

If I were there, I would start the mind reading process ( because if it were real, this is how I would go about it ), but then stop for a while, and say something like " ummmm you know what ?? lets get another person on stage "

You can also use something similar to what Derren used. I'll state this so that you get the idea out of the approach: He asked the 5 people on stage to take a step forward and when they did, he said to a lady... " I'm sorry I don't think I'll be able to do it with you ".

So if you got a third person on stage, use something similar ( maybe pendulums ), and send one person off stage.

You can then go into a one ahead with the 2 people on stage. If you like doing a one ahead routine with 3 people on stage, then just ignore the above.

.............................................................................................
......... What would you do if the peek was part of a bigger routine ???

Well well, lets see. Always prepare for the worst, which is why for each routine, I got another route that I might take if stuff went wrong somewhere.

So if the number was on the pad, have the square you told them to write in, in the center of the pad. If stuff went wrong, just do a C.T. ( Practice your patter for such occasions, because you don't want weird patter when this happens. Everything should look normal, even if the worst happens ) . Of course don't ask them to fold the paper neatly. Just say " Fold your paper into quarters " and it will be folded good enough for that purpose. If you don't do C.T., then practice the basic C.T. and open in your pocket maybe.

Other than peeks, if you provide the spectator with a shorter pencil ( or short pens, which are available in office supply stores ), you have a good chance of the handwriting being neater. Why ? because most people use the normal length bic pens that we all are used to. If their handwriting is horrible with them, it will still be with the pen you gave them. If you use another length, which requires a different grip, people would be more aware of their handwriting and not just scribble comfortably. Also, if there are instructions on the paper or pad, make sure its handwritten neatly, which would encourage the spectator not to write with a messy handwriting.

The one book that so desperately needs to be written for Magic and more so Mentalism is the one entitled ALWAYS HAVE AN OUT. . . It was a mantra given out years ago by Max Maven in his lectures and talks at the Magic Castle and it has been echoed by many others.

You have a piece you absolutely love and suddenly you find that something isn't going right, what do you do? What do you do when you find that one of your birdies are dead while doing a dove act? (It happens far more often than you'd think). . . what if one of the legs to your big prop decides to snap for some unknown reason while you're twirling it about to magically produce the young lady within?

Max's rule was basically to Meet Mr. Murphy face to face and study his laws of Ooops when it came to every single effects & routine bit you do and find solutions around ever possible incident Murphy can wrought onto you. To me learning to deal with this scenario is one of the greater things that makes someone an actual "Magician" vs. some clown that does tricks.

Missing a Peek, such as Dale mentions, should never be a worry in that you can always make an excuse to check things again. . . you may need to be more creative given certain methods, but there is always a way of dealing with a short memory issue as well as the horrid discovery that the impression didn't take. The memory issue is a biggie for me and one of the reason why I'll leave a billet wide open at times, for several seconds to well over a minute at times. . . Riggs and others have mentioned this in their writing, popping open a slip and leaving it fully exposed in your bowl/basket so as to get a bit ahead of things.

When it comes to Impression Pad fails. . . well, where possible I always do a look well ahead of time vs. the "in the moment" peek many of the John Rigg's devices allow. This is also why it's wise to have a small arsenal of methods on hand, but that's neither here or there presently. Let's just say that when you get too used to relying on one system you're setting yourself up for a big Ooops moment.

I wish I could clarify things better but hopefully you get the gist on things.