Fitz's Journal

Sunday Morning

Finally, the sun!  I admit I appreciated the rain yesterday as I sat in my chair configuring blogs and typelists and designs.  Most everybody is set up, and a few of you started posting already.  I know it might be hard to post when there are people in your community that you have ever met, especially for the kids outside of Fenn.  But I can assure you that everyone here is a good person, so make the effort to go around and read and comment as people start activating their blogs ad begin posting.  The hardest part of writing is always the beginning!  Spread the word about your blog community.  It would be great to get some more and varied people to share in our summer experience!

A note on the look of your blog:  I will be happy to give your blog a new design, if the current one is not doing it for you.  I will try and find a site that shows you all the possibilities.  I'm a pretty simple guy by nature, but you might like something more funky.

If you hve any questions or concerns, or dreams or hopes or ideas, just drop me an e-mail.

How To Login To Your Blog The First Time

When you receive the invite (from Typepad) follow these instructions, which should also be in the e-mail.

Here is a short tutorial for how to login to your blog the first time:

   1. You will receive an e-mail from Typepad inviting you to accept an invitation to be a guest.
   2. Accept the invitation.
   3. You will be brought to a new page.  Click in the box where it says to "register for free."  Ignore that it says it is a thirty day free trial. Your blog is already paid for.
   4. It will take you to a page where you can create your own account.  Make up your own username and password--and don't forget them.  (If you are under thirteen, your parents must complete this form.)
   5. Click next.
   6. Accept invite.
   7. You can now go to your entry writing page.

***

Each time you login from now on you start at the typepad.com homepage.

To create an entry:

   1. Click on "Create Post."
   2. Write your entry.  Give everything a title.
   3. Select a category to save it in.
   4. Hit save.
   5. Make sure your posting status is set to publish.  (You can also save your entry as a draft.  Drafts are saved, but they are not posted to your blog.)
   6. Make sure your comments are set to "open."
   7. Hit "view weblog" to see your site.  You will be prompted to enter another username and password to view your blog and the other blogs in your community.  Each community shares the same username and password for viewing.

Your community is:________
The community username is: _________
The community password is: ______ (this may occasionally change to keep the community protedted.  I will e-mail you any time there is a change.

Have fun and keep blogging. Make sure you go to  my blog often: http://www.thefitzplace.typepad.com/ for news, writing tips, ramblings and prompts.

Have fun and tell a friend about Fitzblogs!

A Summer Thing

Any Takers or prospects, please send them my way.  This is a community of bloggers for kids going into 8th and 9th grades.

Thanks for expressing an interest in being a part of my summer reading and writing program.  Summer is the golden time to read and to write.   I do my best to help my students learn—and even to love—the writing process.  I do what I can to guide them to appreciate the meaning and power of a good book, poem or story.  I give all of them a safe place to write, a group of appreciative people with whom to share their writing, and, most importantly, the continual feedback and positive criticism they need to become an engaged, confident and expressive writer.

 Fitzblogs
One World: Many Communities

Preserving, practicing and teaching the craft of writing
through password protected, educationally directed weblog communities.

 

Blogs—short for weblogs—are here to stay.  Millions of people worldwide are using blogs as personal online journals, as platforms for expressing political, spiritual and social views, and as forums to share hobbies and interests.  Blogs really are the new frontier for self-expression—for better and for worse.  Anybody with a computer and an internet connection can start a blog—even a free blog—in minutes.  Anybody with common sense will recognize the opportunities, as well as the dangers and pitfalls of this approach—especially with school age students.  Fitzblogs uses password protected blogs to create educationally directed, age-based writing communities dedicated to helping students develop real and lasting writing skills and an appreciation for literature in a safe and supportive environment.   Fitzblogs are built from the ground up as educational tools to help writers of all ages develop a clear, effective and natural narrative voice, and to appreciate the power and craft of the written word through literary reflections on books, songs, poems and reflections.

 

Join Fitzblogs and you will,

• Receive      your own password protected personal weblog where you can post your      writing as well as your photos, music and more.  Your blog can be      accessed from any computer with an internet connection. 
• Become      a part of a peer community who share in your writing by offering you      positive and constructive feedback and encouragement on your writing.
• Receive      bi-weekly feedback on your writing, as well as monthly updates and an end      of summer assessment.
• Tackle      that summer reading list, and discuss your thoughts through literary      reflections—all with the help of an experienced writing teacher.
• Learn      to punctuate and paragraph with ease and confidence.
• Develop      literary fluency—and your own writer’s voice—through guided journal      writing and specific writing prompts..
• Focus      on what you enjoy writing:  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!
• Write      well-crafted and engaging essays on topics that interest you and your      readers.
• Practice      writing for an audience by sharing your writing with similar age and      interest groups.
• Identify      the strengths and weaknesses of your writing, and we will guide you      through the steps you need to take to become a better writer. 

 

Solid writing skills are essential for effective communication. It doesn’t matter if it is a poem, a proposal, an essay or a Powerpoint presentation; the rights words, effectively delivered, do more than “please your teacher, your client, or your boss.” Your good writing shows that you care about how you are perceived and how you communicate.  Good writing helps us find beauty and meaning in the commonplace events of our lives, and it helps us to see, to feel and to know who we are and where we stand in relation to the world around us.  Above all, good writing is a gift to your reader. A good writer will always be appreciated and admired.  Fitzblogs can help you become that writer.

 

The cost is $250.00 for three summer months (June-August). 

For more information or to sign up for a Fitzblog,

Call: 978-793-1553, or

E-mail: fitzblogs@mac.com

 

 

Prioritizing

That word always looks wrong when I write it down.  I just spent a bit more time orgainzing the belly of this site.  I made a whole boatload of people blogs over the course of the year, but what I don't have is a way to contact them--except through their blog, and if they are not writing,  I assume they are not reading,  and so I don't have a good way of knowing if they want me to keep their blog up on this site.  (What a painfully long sentence!) I am going to err on the side that frees up more bandwidth for my site as a whole.  Right now it seems like there are four or five people in each community that do the bulk of the writing.  I would still love to get this to the point where more people write and comment on a regualr basis, but it's a bit like the old saying, "You can lead a horse to water..." 

So, here are the new rules:

• If you write at least once a month and comment on other blogs I'll keep you on the sidebar typelist.  (A typelist is a group of blogs: I have a group for The Inn Crowd, and one for a group of younger writers, called Fitzblogs)
• If you only write very ocassionally--but still want to keep your blog--then e-mail me when you have posted a new entry and I'll re-enter you into the sidebar, as long as you comment on other people's blogs.
• Spread the word!

A New Idea

Fitzblogs Golden
Fitzblogs: One World. Many Communities

Do you remember when keeping a journal and writing thoughtful letters to each other was considered part and parcel of everyday life? Through these journal writings and letters we shared our hopes and dreams, our observations and experiences, and our thoughts and concerns about each other and the world in which we live. Fitzblogs Golden recaptures the magic of that way of communicating with each other.
Fitzblogs Golden is a password protected online community of people fifty five years and older interested in recreating the power of the written word by sharing their stories and experiences with a safe and supportive community of like-minded people. A “blog,” short for web-log, is a date based online journal. A Fitzblog is a simple to access and simple to use We will set everything up for you. All you need is an e-mail address and a computer with an internet connection. You simply type as you would with an e-mail and then click save; your writing is then instantly published in your online journal, ready to be read by the rest of the Fitzblog Golden community.
You can create both public and private writings in a Fitzblog, but the main purpose of a Fitzblog Golden is to share your writing with the other members of the community. When you join a Fitzblog community you receive prompt, helpful and supportive feedback on your writing from other members of the community, as well as from experienced editors. As a member of a Fitzblog community you are expected to be a part of the community. You are encouraged to read and comment on each other’s journal entries. Every member must be respectful and committed to maintaining a community which values common decency and courtesy. No foul, denigrating or offensive language is allowed in posts or in comments. All Fitzblog members must provide personal references or be recommended by an existing member of the Fitzblogs.
Blogging is surely the new frontier of writing, but learning and practicing the skills of good writing is an age old art; moreover, sharing your writing with an appreciative audience is the goal of all writers. Fitzblogs will not only help you become a better and more effective writer, but it will also provide a place to meet new people who are ready and willing to read and comment on everything you write. When you join Fitzblogs you not only get a place to share your writing, but you also get a new circle of friends who are willing to give you ideas, insights and suggestions to help make your writing experience more rewarding for you. Keep in daily contact with this new circle of friends from anywhere in the world. Share your life through a poem, a memory, a recipe, a travel diary, a reading reflection, a fishing trip, a short story—anything! In fact, with a Fitzblog you can create as many different categories on your individual blog as you wish. For example, if you love to golf, you simply create a category named Golf and then save all your entries that have to do with golf in that category. Likewise, if you are an avid reader, you can create a category called My Favorite Books with book reviews and suggestions for readings to share with your own readers. In this way you can personalize your own blog and easily discover your common interests with other members of the community.
But there is more to a blog than just writing. It's easy to upload photos, movies, podcasts, and songs to your blog. It's also easy to keep in touch with your friends, your children and especially your grandchildren through your online blog. It is a joy for a family to share a whole string of comments below grandma or grandpa's journal entries, even when everybody is living all over the country and world! You simply give your family members a special password called a Typekey that allows your family to read your blog, but not other Fitzblog Golden blogs. You create a lasting legacy and a treasure trove of your memories, words and wisdom for your family and friends to cherish forever.
Fitzblogs communities are protected by passwords and are monitored to help make your blog experience safe, productive and rewarding. Fitzblogs are simple, trouble free and tastefully designed. If you can e-mail, you already have the skills to post to your blog. We are always ready and willing to help you every step of the way.

Start a Fitzblog. Tell Your Story.