Hi B: Well, I remember just 3 years ago my first Theory test, with steno being a type of "replacement code" for our English language. I liken it to my daughter and son (teenagers) texting with " BRB" (be right back) and "R U thr" (are you there) or my sons fave " I D K " ( I don't know)....so, our brains are ready to abbreviate words and p hrases readily and that is what steno does on an entire language of 50,000 words. The ticket is to learn the most-frequently used ones, literally hundreds of them, including, eventually, legal and medical phrases. It sounds overwhelming, but it actually works, with much practice and time. At some point, its "natural" to think that way, as you and your machine become one. Readback is KEY in the feedback loop. Read everything back that you stenokey in, ok? and join Magnum, on this site, and Brief Zone also...
Cheers
Dale