Hi all,
Elsewhere, Carlos asked me:
Do you own any shorthand books already, or are you looking for a series to settle with? I recommend sticking to one series for learning because the principles within a series are interconnected -- in fact, that's how you will be able to write new words, by applying the principles laid out in the specific series. Once you learn a series, then you can mix/match stuff from other series if you want. You're correct that the beginning of Simplified and Anniversary are very similar because you're learning the basic alphabet, which is the same in both series, but there will be differences that will be more noticeable as you progress.
I'm a bit torn yet on which series to choose as my foundation. After research I had thought Simplified seemed the best bet; speed potential without sounding scary to learn. I'm not a reporter and don't want to spend years getting a useful skill; I want to be efficient relatively quickly. (Yeah who doesn't?) Simplified seemed good enough. At the same time, visions of speed and reading Alice in Gregg-land danced in my head.
I did get the Anni FM set, thanks in part to Carlos' posts touting the FM method. And a copy of the Anni manual arrived just today. I followed the "get while the getting is good" principle, also figuring that having the Anni reference would be useful for understanding original Gregg principles, and as documentation of the abbrev prncp. (Haha.)
For reference, I can read through lesson 12 in Simplified. I worked through the review chart today in less than the 9 suggested minutes. In the Anni FM I left off with assignment 5 and the story about getting ready for a fair. My Notehand was further along, but I'd say it's analogous with where I am in Simplified, although easier to read -- presumably due to including more letters in outlines. Or maybe just more entertaining material. :)
So... I am about to jettison Notehand for a while. I like the book and its practice material has been invaluable, but I don't want to develop "lengthy" writing habits. A copy of Simplified FM that I requested from the library almost two weeks ago is finally awaiting my pickup. I'd hoped to compare that to the Anni FM to see which I'd prefer (in terms of content).
I have a good memory, so memory load doesn't phase me so much as whether it will take two years to have a non-vocational skill that is barely usable. Of course, I already own the named Anni books that could probably fill those two years...
Sigh. Well, I wanted to address Carlos' questions from my intro posting and it seemed appropriate to give them their own topic. I know this isn't a new subject of discussion, but I welcome current members' thoughts, which could differ from the older posts on this subject.
Thanks!
-JasonLabels: anniversary, simplified