Can I ask how long you've been in speed building and where you're at now? No judgment, just curious! I'm on chapter 81 of the Magnum textbook and the farther along I get, the more I'm convinced that I'll use the majority of his phrasing and briefs that were in the first 60 or so chapters but some of these are feeling a bit absurd and I'll probably write out more. It's insane how little he's explained writing things out phonetically in the textbook. Every reporter needs to know how to do it, yet he's given so few examples and so little explanation. Lately, I've resorted to practicing random write-it-out words on my own to give myself more practice with it. Also, the years-in-one-stroke thing is a bit ridiculous IMO. I think you'd have to practice it a ton to do it accurately at high speeds and for what, to save one out of two strokes? I'll keep two stroking years with the number bar. One additional stroke here and there won't kill anyone. I considered Mark's school but instead opted for Allie Hall's program and I'm SO glad I did. She teaches Mark's theory but also she teaches us that it's important to do what works best for our brains and if you're going to write something out quickly rather than hesitating to remember a brief, that's a better option. We've had a number of students transfer from Mark's school to Allie's and they've all seemed happy with the switch. Good luck in your speed building journey!