Join a Crafted Word

Blogging Community

The Crafted Word Programs basic foundation is your own personal blog that you transform into a diverse, compelling and fun place to write and share guided and independent writing. With continued writing and content creation, the basic blog evolves into a dynamic digital portfolio to showcase written content, photos and videos, podcasts, presentations–and more. All Crafted Word blogs are safe and secure, password-protected websites that are hosted in a small online writing community created and moderated by John Fitzsimmons, a highly respected writer, performer and founder and creator of The Crafted Word.

What you get…

Receive your own password protected personal blog where you can post your writing as well as your photos, music, videos, podcasts and more. Your blog can be accessed from any computer, tablet or phone.
Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your writing with an experienced teacher of writing who guides you through the steps you need to take to become a better writer.
Become a part of a safe and supportive community who share in your writing and portfolio content by offering you positive and constructive feedback and encouragement on your postings–or you may keep your blog a private blog shared between you and your teacher.
Focus on what you enjoy writing and creating: Anything that encourages the craft of writing is encouraged, including: poetry, songs, short stories, journaling, essays, memoirs, sports articles, book, music and movie reviews—even novels, as well as podcasts, videos and interactive presentations. If it can be created, it can be posted.

What you need to do…

Post regularly to your blog: The more you write, the better you write. It really is that simple. As a part of the summer writing community you are expected to post at least two writing pieces a week–but you can post as often as you wish and you will receive weekly teacher and community feedback on all of your postings.
Respond to prompts & assignments: Writing well requires your being attentive to embracing the spirit and details of weekly writing prompts and exercises. The Crafted Word’s primary goal is to help you become a more confident, effective and joyful writer who is comfortable writing in different genres.
Support your community: While writing is often a solitary art, it is energizing and empowering to feel connected to a respectful and supportive community. I have never had a student who complained about receiving helpful and encouraging comments on their writing pieces and portfolio posting.

But what if…

I don’t feel ready to be in a writing community: It is your choice whether or not to be a part of a community or to have a private blog shared between yourself and your teacher; however, you are welcome to join the community at any time, and it is certainly my goal for you to join the community.
I am away at camp for part of the summer: There are all sorts of good and valid reasons why you can’t post to your blog at various times during the summer or during your busy times during the year–and that is expected and is perfectly fine. My notebook/journal has always been my most trusted friend, and almost everything I write is born out of words first put by pen to paper. Camp, vacations, trips and other experiences are the best sources for the best writing pieces. My advice and hope is that you continue to write and post those pieces when you are ready and able. All of my writing prompts, reading selections and assignments are also available as printable downloads you can take with you wherever you go.
I want to do more on my blog than just write: Do more! The four pillars of the Crafted Word are Read. Write. Create. Share. Your blog is also a powerful digital portfolio that allows you to post all sorts of multi-media content: create photo galleries, slideshows, videos, podcasts and anything else that interests you and is appropriate. There is virtually no limit to how cool you can make your site look and feel.
I think I need help getting started: I am always available for private tutorials. These tutorials can be face to face time, online chats, phone calls or video conferences. I have also created “How To” videos to help get you started.

What about this…

I want to share my blog with other people: Your Community Blog is a password-protected site; however, you can, with permission, share your own blog as widely as you wish.
This was fun and I want to keep using my blog: For a small monthly fee, you can continue using your blog for as long as you wish, and I can continue to help guide and mentor you through your academic year at school and beyond.
I have specific things I need to learn: If you have the time, desire or need, you may also add an additional course to your blogging program. Scroll through the options below and see if what we offer matches up with your needs. If not, we can always custom tailor a program for you.

The Crafted Word Communities

The Crafted Word Blogging Communities are an opportunity for writer in grades heading in to 4-6 and 7-9–and through high school and beyond–to develop a strong and confident writer’s voice in a relaxed and welcoming community of peers and experienced teachers.

Fitzbloggers… This is the original and most diverse Crafted Word community. It grew out of group of students I previously taught who wanted to keep on blogging—even after graduation from the school where I teach 8th grade English. Fitzbloggers is for students in their High School years who love to write–or even for those who just “want” to love writing—and are willing to do what it takes to become more skilled, confident and effective writers. There is always a lively exchange of ideas, opinion pieces, personal narratives and reflections, as well as formal literary and expository essays, amazing poetry and songs, and even book length collections of short stories and novellas. Fitzbloggers is a community for young men and women entering or in high school who are discovering (or who have already discovered) the excitement and challenge of being a true writer. Students in Fitzbloggers are encouraged to try new styles of writing and to expand the breadth and depth of their writing and thinking skills by showing a willingness to study and practice the craft of writing and reflective reading. Students are expected to offer honest, supportive and mature critiques of the writing pieces posted in their community, and they should always be reading—and reflecting one—a work of intellectually challenging literature from their summer reading lists.

Young Teens… This community is for boys and girls in, or just leaving, the sixth and seventh grades. This is a lively community of kids writing, poetry, songs, short stories, personal reflections, daily journal entries and literary reflections on the books they are reading. In this community, writers are expected to embrace the need and value of revision in their own work and they are expected to actively post positive and constructive critiques of the works of all of their fellow community members in Young Teens. Students are guided towards developing a strong and effective narrative voice that reflects clarity and conciseness. Students are encouraged to harness the power of nouns and verbs to create meaningful poetry, short stories and personal essays; additionally, students are encouraged to engage self-editing for style, effective punctuation (especially commas), varied and vivid vocabulary use, the logical flow of paragraphs and consistency of tone. As in every Crafted Word community, the main emphasis of Young Teens is to create a positive, fun, and rewarding writing experience and to enable each child to be a part of the shared journeys of real writers within a caring community of writers

The Kids’ Club… The Kid’s Club is a low-key and low-pressure community designed to foster joyful, articulate and confident writers no matter what their starting point or skill level. This is a writing community for boys and girls in or leaving upper elementary school, typically grades three through five. I do my best to guide, cajole, and encourage the community to share their experiences, to reflect on good books they have read, and to practice solid writing skills through attentive (and age-appropriate) punctuation and paragraphing. The emphasis is on developing and practicing the skills of regular journaling and the writing of more refined writing pieces. Students are free to choose interesting topics from out of the events of their lives–and their imagination–and to craft short stories, personal narratives and poetry. They can post photos of their experiences and create interesting photo-blogs of vacations and other special events. I continually reinforce the need for clear and interesting introductions to their writing pieces; the use of images and actions to help tell the story and the importance of a good and memorable ending. I stress the value of re-reading every sentence out loud to help create a more natural narrative flow, as well as the basics of paragraphing ideas and events, using dialogue and images and actions to help create vivid writing, and the effective use of commas and end punctuation. Students write their own individual pieces and also read and comment on the writing works of the other writers in their community.