Recently, Steno Wizard was contacted by NCRA to give some tips on realtime writing for the JCR. When they'll appear, who knows! You're reading them here first!
1. Know your software. Stay up-to-date with your software. Take advantage of the tips and tricks that are already built-in features of your software. CAT vendors have done a lot to help reporters provide excellent realtime services.
2. Be open to change. Realtime writing is a journey towards excellence. There are a plethora of realtime writing books and websites to explore ideas on how to improve steno theory. You don't have to embrace every single idea. You can pick and choose what you like and ignore what you don't like. You're the person in control of your steno machine -- no one else!
3. Build your dictionary with prefixes, suffixes, root words. Input major cities, colors, flowers, trees, car models, common first and last names, etc. If you know it, as Mark K. says, put it in your steno dictionary. CAT software has dictionary building features to make it easier than ever to build your dictionary.
4. My final suggestion: A good starting point is review your common writing mistakes that you are fixing during the editing stage of transcript production.
As an example, for over a decade, I kept fixing the word "and" (written APBD) during editing. I would misstroke "and" and the words abdomen, apprehend, April, an, ab, everything but "and" would be the ultimate translation. Obviously, a huge amount of time was involved in editing that simple 3-letter word. Something had to change. A student told me she was being taught SKP- in school. I wasn't immediately enthralled with the idea, but I pondered it for a while and it grew on me. My realtime writing improved tremendously once I made the SKP- change. Of course, my production time improved along the way.
