Search This Blog
Welcome to the Steno Wizard's Realtime Journey!
Remember when life was simple and all you had to do was make a selection on what your steno really meant? Those days are long gone.
Reporters must get themselves into top realtime form to compete in today's job market. This is my contribution toward ALL of us reaching the realtime goal.
My Steno Wizardry concept is based on the idea that writing realtime actually doesn't require magic -- just hard work, determination, and a little bit of FUN imagination.
My hope is my sharing of the ideas I've incorporated into my realtime journey will assist you in yours.
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Con- prefix words
Steno Wizard recently began exploring new ways to write words that start with "con." My original theory pretty much had all "con" words being written KOPB as the first stroke and then writing the rest of the word in the next stroke. There were a few briefs, but not as much as I'd like for high-frequency words.
Often SK- for cons-/conc- is working for me when inserting an asterisk -- which is helping me to avoid conflicts. :)
SK*EPT concept
SK*EPGS conception
SK*UR concur
SKAO*EF conceive
SK*ERT concert
SK*EPBT consent
SK*EUFT consist
SKO*RM consortium
SKAO*ED concede
SKO*LT consolidate
SKPA*ERT co-conspirator (SPAERT - conspirator -- definitely needed something!)
SK*EUF consecutive
SK*EUFL consecutively
SK*URPBT concurrent
SK*URPBL concurrently
SKAO*UPL consume
I may not need to use an asterisk for these in the future, but for now that's a path I'm following.
K*EFPLT context
K*EPLT contempt
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
I'm going to brief
Steno Wizard's latest briefing strategy is incorporating a technique across an array of "going to" phrases.
On the left-hand side of the keyboard...
I'm going to SGOEU
going to GOEU
On the right-hand side of the keyboard add the following keys.
-FRPZ impose
I'm going to impose SGOEUFRPZ
going to impose GOEUFRPZ
-FK ask
I'm going to ask SGOEUFK
going to ask GOEUFK
-FPL explain
I'm going to explain SGOEUFPL
going to explain GOEUFPL
-RG agree
I'm going to agree SGOEURG
going to agree GOEURG
-S say
I'm going to say SGOEUS
going to say GOEUS
-RB show
I'm going to show SGOEURB
going to show GOEURB
-RPBLGS do
I'm going to do SGOEURPBLGS
going to do GOEURPBLGS
-DZ describe
I'm going to describe SGOEUDZ
going to describe GOEUDZ
-B be
I'm going to be SGOEUB
going to be GOEUB
How handy!
On the left-hand side of the keyboard...
I'm going to SGOEU
going to GOEU
On the right-hand side of the keyboard add the following keys.
-FRPZ impose
I'm going to impose SGOEUFRPZ
going to impose GOEUFRPZ
-FK ask
I'm going to ask SGOEUFK
going to ask GOEUFK
-FPL explain
I'm going to explain SGOEUFPL
going to explain GOEUFPL
-RG agree
I'm going to agree SGOEURG
going to agree GOEURG
-S say
I'm going to say SGOEUS
going to say GOEUS
-RB show
I'm going to show SGOEURB
going to show GOEURB
-RPBLGS do
I'm going to do SGOEURPBLGS
going to do GOEURPBLGS
-DZ describe
I'm going to describe SGOEUDZ
going to describe GOEUDZ
-B be
I'm going to be SGOEUB
going to be GOEUB
How handy!
Monday, December 3, 2018
Understanding
I frequently phrase the word understand and understanding in my daily writing, so I am sharing my common phrases. Perhaps you'll find something useful to you.
I understand EURND
I don't understand KWROND
you don't understand SKWROND
you understand URND
your understanding AOURNG
my understanding MEURNG
with understanding WURNG, and sometimes I seem to like WURNGD for that.
if I understand TPEURND
if you understand TPURND
is that your understanding STHAURNG
is it your understanding STAURNG
did you understand TKURND
do you understand TKOURND
as I understand it ST*EUND
it's the State's understanding STURNG
I understand EURND
I don't understand KWROND
you don't understand SKWROND
you understand URND
your understanding AOURNG
my understanding MEURNG
with understanding WURNG, and sometimes I seem to like WURNGD for that.
if I understand TPEURND
if you understand TPURND
is that your understanding STHAURNG
is it your understanding STAURNG
did you understand TKURND
do you understand TKOURND
as I understand it ST*EUND
it's the State's understanding STURNG
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Trial Briefs
I've come up with some new brief forms due to the content of some of the trials I've reported lately. Maybe you'll find a gem.
retaliate TRAELT
retaliation TRAELGS
retaliatory TROEUR
discriminatory SKROEUMT - or - STKROEUMT
interpersonal SPWERL
harassment HAEURPLT
taxpayer TAERP
electronically *EBLG
taxable TABL
opioid OEUPD
opiate OEUPT
retaliate TRAELT
retaliation TRAELGS
retaliatory TROEUR
discriminatory SKROEUMT - or - STKROEUMT
interpersonal SPWERL
harassment HAEURPLT
taxpayer TAERP
electronically *EBLG
taxable TABL
opioid OEUPD
opiate OEUPT
Monday, August 28, 2017
OIP for Multisyllabic Words Ending in -ship
leadership LOIP
relationship ROIP
township TOIP
citizenship ZOIP
dealership DOIP
friendship FROIP
membership MOIP
Partnership POIP
proprietorship PROIP
brinkmanship BROIP
championship KHOIP
scholarship SKLOIP
guardianship GOIP
sportsmanship SPOIP
censorship SOIP
internship SPWOIP
workmanship WOIP
ownership OIP
stewardship STOIP
bipartisanship BOIP
relationship ROIP
township TOIP
citizenship ZOIP
dealership DOIP
friendship FROIP
membership MOIP
Partnership POIP
proprietorship PROIP
brinkmanship BROIP
championship KHOIP
scholarship SKLOIP
guardianship GOIP
sportsmanship SPOIP
censorship SOIP
internship SPWOIP
workmanship WOIP
ownership OIP
stewardship STOIP
bipartisanship BOIP
Monday, August 21, 2017
Names in the News...and Real-Life Applications
Steno Wizard is sharing briefs that were implemented during the captioning days and some are still very useful in traditional court reporting venues. Perhaps you'll enjoy them.
Franklin FRANL
Lincoln LEUNL
Kennedy K*END
JFK J*FK, twice for John F. Kennedy
Madison MADZ
Washington WA*UG, Washington, D.C. WA*UGDZ
Taylor TAEURL (tailor is two strokes)
Tyler TAOEURL
Roosevelt RAOFLT
Cleveland KLAOEFLD
Obama BO*EM
Barack Obama BRO*EM
Hillary Clinton HEURKT
Bill Clinton BLEUKT
Donald Trump DRUFRP
Melania MA*ENL
Melania Trump MA*ENLT
Ulysses KWRAOULSZ
Zachary STKAERK
Lincoln LEUNL
Kennedy K*END
JFK J*FK, twice for John F. Kennedy
Madison MADZ
Washington WA*UG, Washington, D.C. WA*UGDZ
Taylor TAEURL (tailor is two strokes)
Tyler TAOEURL
Roosevelt RAOFLT
Cleveland KLAOEFLD
Obama BO*EM
Barack Obama BRO*EM
Hillary Clinton HEURKT
Bill Clinton BLEUKT
Donald Trump DRUFRP
Melania MA*ENL
Melania Trump MA*ENLT
Ulysses KWRAOULSZ
Zachary STKAERK
Monday, August 7, 2017
Still on the realtime journey, just another adventure
Steno Wizard is no longer captioning, though it was a very valuable experience that I highly recommend any steno realtime writer to explore.
In January of this year, Steno Wizard was offered a position in federal court within 45 minutes of home and couldn't say no.
Realtime is definitely the difference maker in securing the federal court position, so onward and upward I go!
Here's some briefs I've been incorporating very recently. Perhaps you've already known them, but regardless I'll share...
statutory STOERT
statutorily STOERLT
impossibly KPWOEUBL -- surprised I didn't have it in my steno database, but there you go!
citizenship STKOEUP
naturalization NAURLGS
magistrate MAJT
inextricably intertwined STRAOEUND
bifurcate BAOEUFRKT
factual FABLG
seriousness SAOERNS
conspiracy SPAERS
conspirator SPAERT
co-conspirator SKPAERT
severe SWAO*ER
sentencing guidelines SGLAOEUNZ
is that your signature STHAURGT
is this your signature STHURGT
in forma pauperis NAUPZ or NAUPS -- why limit yourself to just one :)
In January of this year, Steno Wizard was offered a position in federal court within 45 minutes of home and couldn't say no.
Realtime is definitely the difference maker in securing the federal court position, so onward and upward I go!
Here's some briefs I've been incorporating very recently. Perhaps you've already known them, but regardless I'll share...
statutory STOERT
statutorily STOERLT
impossibly KPWOEUBL -- surprised I didn't have it in my steno database, but there you go!
citizenship STKOEUP
naturalization NAURLGS
magistrate MAJT
inextricably intertwined STRAOEUND
bifurcate BAOEUFRKT
factual FABLG
seriousness SAOERNS
conspiracy SPAERS
conspirator SPAERT
co-conspirator SKPAERT
severe SWAO*ER
sentencing guidelines SGLAOEUNZ
is that your signature STHAURGT
is this your signature STHURGT
in forma pauperis NAUPZ or NAUPS -- why limit yourself to just one :)
Monday, October 24, 2016
More methods to resolve proper names
How about a sure way to resolve some proper names and a few of their
more common spelling variations? There are a few suggestions to help
build perfect translation for names you may not have in your steno
database yet.
SW writes the Y- as KWR. Here's a new ending the starts off with the KWR:
KWR-PB for suffix -yn
Megyn MEG/KWR-PB
Robyn ROB/KWR-PB
Lauryn LAUR/KWR-PB
Jordyn JORD/KWR-PB
Karyn KAEUR/KWR-PB
-PB for -en or -an
Megan MEG/-PB
Robin ROB/-PB
Lauren HRAURPB or HRAUR/-PB
Jordan SKWRORD/-PB
HR*ERBG for suffix -ley
Ashley ARB/HR*ERBG
Hadley HAD/HR*ERBG --- or H (the stroke for had) H/HR*ERBG
Bayley PWAEU/HR*ERBG
Wesley WES/HR*ERBG
Westley WEFT/HR*ERBG (yes, I know, but this is legit)
Lesley LES/HR*ERBG
Farley TPAR/HR*ERBG
TPH*ERBG for suffix -ney
Whitney WHEUT/TPH*ERBG
Carney KAR/TPH*ERBG
Barney PWAR/TPH*ERBG
Another possibly mind-blowing concept is using -RBG for the -Y.
Trey TRERBG
Payton PARBG/TOPB
Peyton PERBG/TOPB
Spelling may just help after all:
Meghan MEG/HAPB
Zach STKAFP
Zack STKABG
Tre TRE*
Trae TRA*E
SW writes the Y- as KWR. Here's a new ending the starts off with the KWR:
KWR-PB for suffix -yn
Megyn MEG/KWR-PB
Robyn ROB/KWR-PB
Lauryn LAUR/KWR-PB
Jordyn JORD/KWR-PB
Karyn KAEUR/KWR-PB
-PB for -en or -an
Megan MEG/-PB
Robin ROB/-PB
Lauren HRAURPB or HRAUR/-PB
Jordan SKWRORD/-PB
HR*ERBG for suffix -ley
Ashley ARB/HR*ERBG
Hadley HAD/HR*ERBG --- or H (the stroke for had) H/HR*ERBG
Bayley PWAEU/HR*ERBG
Wesley WES/HR*ERBG
Westley WEFT/HR*ERBG (yes, I know, but this is legit)
Lesley LES/HR*ERBG
Farley TPAR/HR*ERBG
TPH*ERBG for suffix -ney
Whitney WHEUT/TPH*ERBG
Carney KAR/TPH*ERBG
Barney PWAR/TPH*ERBG
Another possibly mind-blowing concept is using -RBG for the -Y.
Trey TRERBG
Payton PARBG/TOPB
Peyton PERBG/TOPB
Spelling may just help after all:
Meghan MEG/HAPB
Zach STKAFP
Zack STKABG
Tre TRE*
Trae TRA*E
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Proper Name Briefs
Realtime and captioning is full of proper names. Steno Wizard is sharing some proper name briefs that have become more of a necessity to keep up in the steno realtime world. Perhaps you'll like them or they'll spark an idea or two. There's a previous post from a few years back with some suggestions, and hopefully SW won't repeat too many. Unfortunately, names can also be spelled a few different ways, but these are the ones that SW uses for the common ones.
Christopher KREUFR
Jeffrey JAEFR
Geoffrey GAEFR
Jeff JEF
Geoff GEF
Jessica JAEFK
Joseph JOEF
Stephanie STA*EFPB
Brittany BRAE*NT
Tiffany TA*EFN
John JO*N
Jon J*UN
Jonathan JAO*N
Victor VEURKT
Victoria V*EURKT
Alexander STKAERND
Alexandria STKA*ERND
Kimberly KBERL
Ashley AERBL
Elizabeth L*EUBZ
Elisabeth L*EUBS
Maria MRA*
Mario MRO*
Carlos KAORLS
Carlo KAORL
Samantha SMANGT
Debbie DAEB
Madison MADZ
Margaret MARGT
Janet JAENT
Preston PR*ETS
Ramos RAO*MS
Stamos STAO*MS
Morales MO*RLS
Jarod JAORD
Jared JAERD
Daniel DANL
Danielle DA*NL
Zachary STKAERK
Zacharia STKA*ERK
Natalie TPHAELT
Christopher KREUFR
Jeffrey JAEFR
Geoffrey GAEFR
Jeff JEF
Geoff GEF
Jessica JAEFK
Joseph JOEF
Stephanie STA*EFPB
Brittany BRAE*NT
Tiffany TA*EFN
John JO*N
Jon J*UN
Jonathan JAO*N
Victor VEURKT
Victoria V*EURKT
Alexander STKAERND
Alexandria STKA*ERND
Kimberly KBERL
Ashley AERBL
Elizabeth L*EUBZ
Elisabeth L*EUBS
Maria MRA*
Mario MRO*
Carlos KAORLS
Carlo KAORL
Samantha SMANGT
Debbie DAEB
Madison MADZ
Margaret MARGT
Janet JAENT
Preston PR*ETS
Ramos RAO*MS
Stamos STAO*MS
Morales MO*RLS
Jarod JAORD
Jared JAERD
Daniel DANL
Danielle DA*NL
Zachary STKAERK
Zacharia STKA*ERK
Natalie TPHAELT
Saturday, February 20, 2016
Court Reporting & Captioning Week
It's been a fantastic week to celebrate Court Reporting & Captioning Week. I've been so excited to see how much this celebration of our skills has grown. What a great idea! I've loved seeing all the posts on social media and television. Proud to be a steno writer!
Friday, February 19, 2016
Steno Wizard's latest foray into hyphenation
Steno Wizard spied this in a captioning group, and it is so awesome! My writing is a work in progress, so I love trying out new ideas. I'm sharing with you just in case you want to try it out too.
For a few years now, I've been writing TO* for -to- which is a nice, quick way to put hyphens in for a myriad of words. To share one example, bride-to-be. Looks pretty when it translates with the hyphens in the appropriate places. Other examples can be found in an earlier posting.
So...to expand on this concept...
-on- OINZ
-by- BO*EUZ
-for- FOIZ
-of- YOIFZ
-and- AINZ
-in- Y*INZ
They're all probably defined with both the asterisk and without in my personal dictionary.
Next, this is another idea I've been implementing lately.
-related R*ELTD
-type TAO*EUP
-like HRAO*EUK
-free TPRAO*E
-prone PRO*EN
For a few years now, I've been writing TO* for -to- which is a nice, quick way to put hyphens in for a myriad of words. To share one example, bride-to-be. Looks pretty when it translates with the hyphens in the appropriate places. Other examples can be found in an earlier posting.
So...to expand on this concept...
-on- OINZ
-by- BO*EUZ
-for- FOIZ
-of- YOIFZ
-and- AINZ
-in- Y*INZ
They're all probably defined with both the asterisk and without in my personal dictionary.
Next, this is another idea I've been implementing lately.
-related R*ELTD
-type TAO*EUP
-like HRAO*EUK
-free TPRAO*E
-prone PRO*EN
Friday, November 27, 2015
Southern California Briefs!
This newbie captioner has been busy the last few months captioning news in the Southern California area -- first San Diego and then Los Angeles. To survive all those multisyllabic cities, area roads, etc., Steno Wizard petitioned a few seasoned captioners and some Southern California reporter friends, and I am happily sharing with all of you!
L.A. HRAFRPLT
L.A.X. HRA*FPL
Los Angeles HRAPBGS
Hollywood HO*EULD
Beverly Hills B*EFRLZ
San Diego STKAEUG
San Bernardino SB*ERN
Santa Clair SKLAIR
Sacramento SKRAEMT
San Fernando SF*ERN
Santa Barbara SBARB
San Francisco SFRAN
San Francisco International Airport SFA*EURPT
San Gabriel STKPWRA*EUB
Santa Monica SM*ON
San Luis Obispo SLAOUS and/or SBEUS
Santa Clarita SKLAOERT
San Bruno SBRAOUN
Santa Maria SMRA*
San Mateo SMA*ET
San Rafael SFRAEL
Santa Ana SNA*
Ontario AO*NT
Anaheim NAO*EUM
Pomona PO*EM
Oxnard SNA*RD
Fontana FAO*NT
Alhambra HA*URM
Hawthorne HA*URGT
Loma Linda LO*EMD
Tarzana TA*RZ
Wilshire WO*EURB
Wilshire Boulevard WO*EURBLD
Sherman Oaks SHO*EKZ
Mulholland M*ULD
El Segundo *ELGD
Van Nuys VAO*EUNZ
Simi Valley SMA*EFL
Compton KO*FRPT
Arcardia A*RKD
Alessandro SA*UNDR
Monrovia MO*EFRN
Escondido SKAOND
Chula Vista KHAOUFT
L.A. HRAFRPLT
L.A.X. HRA*FPL
Los Angeles HRAPBGS
Hollywood HO*EULD
Beverly Hills B*EFRLZ
San Diego STKAEUG
San Bernardino SB*ERN
Santa Clair SKLAIR
Sacramento SKRAEMT
San Fernando SF*ERN
Santa Barbara SBARB
San Francisco SFRAN
San Francisco International Airport SFA*EURPT
San Gabriel STKPWRA*EUB
Santa Monica SM*ON
San Luis Obispo SLAOUS and/or SBEUS
Santa Clarita SKLAOERT
San Bruno SBRAOUN
Santa Maria SMRA*
San Mateo SMA*ET
San Rafael SFRAEL
Santa Ana SNA*
Ontario AO*NT
Anaheim NAO*EUM
Pomona PO*EM
Oxnard SNA*RD
Fontana FAO*NT
Alhambra HA*URM
Hawthorne HA*URGT
Loma Linda LO*EMD
Tarzana TA*RZ
Wilshire WO*EURB
Wilshire Boulevard WO*EURBLD
Sherman Oaks SHO*EKZ
Mulholland M*ULD
El Segundo *ELGD
Van Nuys VAO*EUNZ
Simi Valley SMA*EFL
Compton KO*FRPT
Arcardia A*RKD
Alessandro SA*UNDR
Monrovia MO*EFRN
Sepulveda SP*UFLD
Escondido SKAOND
Chula Vista KHAOUFT
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
In the news today
Today's news...
Amtrak
Today's briefs...
derail TKRAEUL
derailed TKRAEULD
derails TKRAEULZ
derailment TKRAEUPLT
Philadelphia TPEUFL
New York City TPHOERBGS (changed from theory brief due to "no," problem)
Washington WA*UG
Washington, D.C. WA*UGDZ
rescue REFBG
toppling TOP/-LG
-mile-per-hour PH*EURP (defined to attach to the number prior)
mangled PHAPBG/LD
NTSB N*T/S*B
passenger PAENG
passengers PAENGZ
Amtrak
Today's briefs...
derail TKRAEUL
derailed TKRAEULD
derails TKRAEULZ
derailment TKRAEUPLT
Philadelphia TPEUFL
New York City TPHOERBGS (changed from theory brief due to "no," problem)
Washington WA*UG
Washington, D.C. WA*UGDZ
rescue REFBG
toppling TOP/-LG
-mile-per-hour PH*EURP (defined to attach to the number prior)
mangled PHAPBG/LD
NTSB N*T/S*B
passenger PAENG
passengers PAENGZ
Friday, May 8, 2015
Here's a few new words
Some words that I had to finger spell a portion of to get perfect translation while on the air and are now added to my personal dictionary.
lampoon, lampooning, lampoons, lampooned
Polarization. I don't understand why I can't seem to write it consistently, but I'm working on it!
En route. I would have thought I'd had it in there already, but NOOOOO!
I've now added as a result the following words just in case since I'm also familiar with them --
en banc
en bloc
en masse
en garde
Sharing!
Onward and upward!
lampoon, lampooning, lampoons, lampooned
Polarization. I don't understand why I can't seem to write it consistently, but I'm working on it!
En route. I would have thought I'd had it in there already, but NOOOOO!
I've now added as a result the following words just in case since I'm also familiar with them --
en banc
en bloc
en masse
en garde
Sharing!
Onward and upward!
Thursday, May 7, 2015
A simple captioning brief idea
An experienced captioner shared with me her method for writing a show's name with the appropriate quotation marks. For each show's dictionary, she defines the stroke SHO*E. For example, "Today in New York" is SHO*E and is input into that station's dictionary, WNBC. "Newsline" is SHO*E for the NHK broadcasts. "AMHQ" is SHO*E for The Weather Channel.
A simple solution that works. You definitely need to make sure your appropriate dictionaries are loaded and in the proper order so you have no on-air disaster...
I also write WEB/WEB for a station's website and define it into that show's particular dictionary.
A simple solution that works. You definitely need to make sure your appropriate dictionaries are loaded and in the proper order so you have no on-air disaster...
I also write WEB/WEB for a station's website and define it into that show's particular dictionary.
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Gesundheit
While on the air, one of the news anchors sneezed -- a first for me. Of course, no one said "Bless you" -- why would they? Those words are in my dictionary. Ha!
Gesundheit! It has now been added with about 7 different ways I may write it when I can't figure out the true spelling. GA-ZUND-HYT, GE-SUN-HYT, GE-ZUND-HYT, etc. I hope I don't find a new way when it comes up again on the air!
Gesundheit! It has now been added with about 7 different ways I may write it when I can't figure out the true spelling. GA-ZUND-HYT, GE-SUN-HYT, GE-ZUND-HYT, etc. I hope I don't find a new way when it comes up again on the air!
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Briefs added to the repertoire in the past year!
While watching the Kentucky Derby, thought I'd share some one-stroker briefs...
Derby TKAERB
victory SROEURBGT
championship KHOEUP
delivery TKHRAEFR
running R-G
winning W-G
spinning SP-G
Louisville HRAOUFL
unique TPHAOEBG
AND an important entry for your captioning dictionary, HA*G - defined as #~ -- hashtag with a delete space.
Derby TKAERB
victory SROEURBGT
championship KHOEUP
delivery TKHRAEFR
running R-G
winning W-G
spinning SP-G
Louisville HRAOUFL
unique TPHAOEBG
AND an important entry for your captioning dictionary, HA*G - defined as #~ -- hashtag with a delete space.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
More dictionary building
Found on the left-hand side of the page is a list of Fortune 500 companies for inputting into the captioner's dictionary - http://fortune.com/fortune500/#
How about weather terms? Check out this site: http://w1.weather.gov/glossary/ and other page on the site too: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutgloss.shtml
How about weather terms? Check out this site: http://w1.weather.gov/glossary/ and other page on the site too: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutgloss.shtml
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)





