I found this comment on the Alternative Handwriting and Shorthand Systems website about shorthand systems that use the letters of the alphabet.
- - As modifications on longhand, they retain the
shortcomings of multi-stroke symbols per letter and, not being
phonetic, the vagaries of English orthography. They lack the elegance
of the symbol systems, such as Pitman's and Gregg's, that at least
avoid the mistake of building on the flawed foundation of longhand.- -
I want to assure everyone that Keyscript is phonetic. It does not follow the vagaries of English spelling. Silent letters are not written. Moreover, one letter is used for combinations such as ch, sh, & th which in longhand would be represented by two letters.
Not all handwritten letters require multi-strokes, most are written without taking pen off paper. In addition, Keyscript regularly and often employs phrasing, or writing certain words together without spacing. In Keyscript, as in English longhand, the handwriting is of a uniform slope, unlike Pitman Shorthand which constantly changes the slope. This in itself is an aid to speed. And Keyscript uses only the lower-case letters of the alphabet.
In my humble opinion, Keyscript is elegant. It avoids the closed look of some alphabetical shorthands which show very few vowels. Keyscript shows vowels frequently. This may sound contradictory because Keyscript generally represents words by their consonant structure, but vowels are used to show combinations of consonants.
Some letters in Keyscript are used more often than others, but the distribution of the various letters of the alphabet is much more even than in English longhand. This gives Keyscript an attractive and intriguing look and makes the outlines stand out as unique, which aids reading.