I'm only up to #70, and every time I review I forget about 50% (or more!) of the cards. I frequently forget the stories or sometimes I remember what elements are in a kanji but I forget how they're arranged. Some of the stories are pretty far fetched (I'm using other people's stories for the most part) and I'm unable to come up with anything better myself.

Does this get better? Is this normal in the beginning?

Maybe you are trying to force yourself to remember too much. When you learn new kanji, do you sit back and relax? Maybe it's also better to use the stories in the book during the first part because they are very simple and clear. Just relax and it should get better. Also, there's no hurry.

I sucked quite the same in the beginning, just try to find the best story you can. Find a story that symbolises the first thing that comes to your mind when you see the keyword, I think it is the most effective way to memorize.

It will get better for sure, but I think how well you memorize depends on what comes first into your mind when you see the keyword and how you can associate that "first thing" with the story. I think that memorizing kanji doesnt depend on your memory, but your method.

I totally agree with jettyke. The secret is to link the story and its images with the first image that the keyword generates.

Keep trying, though, even if you do them over and over again. They'll stick eventually. Once you get through the early phases though it gets a lot easier, especially when you're learning a whole batch of words with the same primitve at once, then most of your focus is on the other primitive (which is very likely to have come up previously)

The more kanji you learn, the easier it gets. It's -really- hard at first, moreso for some than others... Just stick with it. Eventually you'll be like 'Was it really hard?'

domokun1134 Wrote:I'm only up to #70, and every time I review I forget about 50% (or more!) of the cards. I frequently forget the stories or sometimes I remember what elements are in a kanji but I forget how they're arranged. Some of the stories are pretty far fetched (I'm using other people's stories for the most part) and I'm unable to come up with anything better myself.

Does this get better? Is this normal in the beginning?

Yes, this is normal for people just starting out. It doesn't hurt you at all to spend an extra long time on the first 100 kanji. A month for just the first 100 should not be considered a long time, and no it doesn't speak ill of your ability to learn kanji either. Everybody is slow at starting out and everybody gets quicker at learning them as they learn more.

However, just to be sure-- there is a best way to learn kanji from stories, and though it's not necessarily the same for everybody, I'll outline the steps I take so maybe you can take a look at your own study habits and try to avoid any pitfalls (my way is not necessarily the best way for you, but it has allowed me to do 25-50 kanji a day with excellent retention).

Learning:
1. Skim through a set of stories (10-30 is a good number, but when you're starting out, focus on fewer), looking at the kanji, trying to make connections but not trying to learn. If any connections pop out at you, make a mental note, but that's all.
2. Write that set of kanji down in a notebook. Next to each, write its respective keyword. You don't have to write each kanji 10+ times, but use pencil so you can at least erase any sloppiness and get the shape right.
3. Now look at the first kanji and look at the story. Does it make sense? If not, take extra time to imagine a plot with characters that connects the keyword and primitive meanings to the shapes. If you want to write your own story, this is the time, but for the first 300 or so kanji, I'd recommend you stick with Heisig's stories he gives in the book. Five minutes per kanji should not be seen as too long for this step.
4. Now copy each story into your notebook.
5. Make flashcards with the same information you just wrote down, kanji on the front, keyword and story on the back (write the story upside down so you don't accidentally read it when reviewing from keyword). Try to write the kanji as neatly as you can, even if you have to erase it 8 times to get it right. The repetition will drive it into your memory.

Review:
1. First review from the kanji side of your flashcards, seeing if you can recall the keyword. Take note of the ones you can't recall and either work harder at setting the story into your brain or revise the story to make it more concrete.
2. Next day review the you just learned kanji from their keywords. Write each kanji down on a sheet of paper as you review it, regardless of whether you remembered it or not. Writing a kanji from a keyword meaning is an important step in the review process.
3. If you miss a kanji when reviewing from keyword at this stage, or if you have to glance at the story to write all of the kanji, take extra time to re-set the story into your brain.
-If you get the order of the primitives mixed up, take extra time repeatedly writing the kanji, to set something about it into your visual memory. If you can write a story that orders the primitives above/below/beside each other (sometimes you can, sometimes you can't), then do that.
4. Continue reviewing, both from the kanji side and the keyword side, for the next months/years/until you can look at a wall of kanji and have their meanings jump out at you immediately.
-This is when you move to SRS-based review; or, if you're like me, then just continue using the paper flash cards and continuously re-order them through various decks using the same principles that SRS systems use. I use 4 stacks: 1)know well, 2)know OK, 3)had to check the story, and 4)completely missed.

Sieve.

haha I forget english spellings all the time. not that I care

jajaaan,

Thanks for the advice. I'll be sure to use it as a guideline. I've basically stopped learning new kanji until I can catch up.