It has been a bit but I’ve been working on my shorthand again. For reference, I completed the original anniversary manual a few years ago and enough has stuck with me that I can roughly keep up with many of the 60 wpm dictations on youtube although I find that I do sometimes have hesitation that causes me to drop probably half a sentence every 5 minutes or so which is something I am working on and expect will improve with time as my vocabulary expands and I work on reviewing my theory. For the more experienced writers out there, to what extent to you try to adhere to the “official” forms provided in the dictionaries for words vs find your own forms. There is a lot of flexibility in the abbreviating principle.
For example, I recently saw “a-p-l-sh” for application, which is wonderful and the official form, but also not one that I would have come to myself without having seen the form. If I had been writing it myself during dictation, I would probably have written it “a-p-l-e-k-sh”. Of course this is worse, but in the course of learning there will be many examples like this. To what extent do you try to go back and look up the official outline and to what extent do you keep on with the form you generated spontaneously?
Another similar example is ideally. The official outline is “a-d-e-l-e”, where my first instinct would have been “a-d-[ally/illy loop]”. Is there a reason that I should be wary of incorporating my shorter version? And would you be wary in this specific case, or as a general rule?
Finally, the elimination of “r” sounds in “ver-” and “fer-” sounds seems very inconsistent to me and would likewise generate many of the same concerns. Is there a more general rule for this that I have forgotten?
Sorry of this has been asked before and thanks everyone for your insight!
Bonus question: for anniversary, what would be the recommended progression of books after the manual?