Online Student has a question - re: Stacking

[Jeannie Wright]

Hi, everyone - I'm an an online student at the Court Reporting Institute of Dallas and, as such, I really don't have a lot of input or conversations regarding lots of things about court reporting (it's a very lonely world for the online student). On many occasions I have read the term "stacking" and someone has a blog on here about her Mira stacking.

I know this is an elementary question, but if I don't ask, I'll never know, right? What is stacking? How does it occur? How is it prevented?

TIA to everyone for your replies!

Jeannie

[Jeannie Wright]

Mark Kislingbury is the king of steno - seriously -- he's been a multi-time speed champion. He has a website: www.magnumsteno.com. He also published Stenomaster Theory which I am incorporating into Phoenix -- and it's working well -- possibly because I don't have a really built up dictionary (not complaining - Phoenix sends a great one), and don't have years of habits to break. His new book looks awesome and I hope to get it for my birthday and when my speed gets up, I want to join his monthly club - I think you would probably be at the speed where you could enjoy that.

[Sharon Squire]

Hi Jeannie-your blog is very informative. Can you tell me who Mark Kislingbury is and where I can take a look at his theory? Has it helped a lot with your writing to incorporate his theory? Thanks, Jeannie!

[Jeannie Wright]

Thanks for that explanation, Tami! Yes, I am a one of those "stroke intensive theory" students, so even though I am just in my 80/100 class, I already concentrating on writing shorter and incorporating Mark Kislingbury's theory into mine - your hints are a terrific help!

I just love this place - everyone is always kind enough to reply to a question!

[Tami]

A very optimistic approach to stacking. Jeannie, is to create a brief using the stacked stroke.

I learned in theory TOT was "to the," but some longhand theories out these days have you coming back for a stroke for every single syllable. This is unnecessary and, in my opinion, creates a longer stay in school.

The stacks you do have, start making a note of them, and use the stack as a new brief form. If you're writing fewer strokes, you will, in essence, write cleaner. If it takes you three or four strokes to write a word I do in one, you have three or four chances to hit it wrong, while I have only the one chance to screw it up.

Hope that makes sense to you.

What you describe as the paper getting close probably will not come up as a stack in a computerized translation. If it shares the exact same line on paper and you are unable to tell which letter goes with which intended outline, then you probably will have a stack. Obviously using paper only, that is a stack.

[Jeannie Wright]

Well, I'm afraid to go paperless, even if I were to write 300 words a minute - power surges/outages are common in our courthouse - that would be a guaranteed recipe for disaster. And, in fact, I think our statutes require paper notes. Thanks for your comments!

[Kyung]

I've only ever had the Stentura 8000. I do think some machines are worse than others. But then again, it's also a matter of writing style. That's why I like to read about people's experience w/different machines. Also one of the reasons I still like my paper notes.

[Jeannie Wright]

Oh, thanks, Kyung! I thought that was what it was - I have that problem with a couple of words, but found that if I adjusted the weaker key, it helped. I still have a problem with what looks like the paper not advancing when I write faster (on occasion, it's been exactly that), but sometimes I just get my lines really really close together.

Are some machines worse than others? I was thinking of getting a Fusion next year - do you have an opinion?

[Kyung]

Stacking sometimes occurs when you are writing things really quickly and you have not released the stroke you are on completely before you start down for the next stroke.

So you may want to write "to the", but you write tot instead. You've stroked initial t, initial o with your left hand, but before you've completely released it, your right hand is starting to go down for the final t, so the strokes are "stacked" on top of one another.

I hope that makes sense. It's the best example I could come up with.

So when you look at your paper notes, you'll see initial t, initial o. Your hand will have started coming up, then your right hand starts going down for the final t. On your notes, those strokes might be on separate lines, albeit spaced rather closely together. But your computer might see that as one stroke; therefore, you end up with tot instead of to the.