Registration is fast, easy, and free.

If you're a Facebook member, just click, Sign in with Facebook and sign in with your Facebook ID.

Or click the Create an Account link in the Login area. This takes you to a page asking for your Name, Username, E-mail, and Password, as well as some other, optional information for your member profile.

After submitting this information, you will receive an email containing a link to click, confirming your identity and activating your membership.

Once you have activated, you can log in with the Username and Password you have chosen. If you leave the Remember Me box checked, you will remain logged in on the same computer, until you log out.

Start exploring the links on the Community Menu. You might want to visit your Profile and check out the various tabs you find there. You can update your Profile by uploading an avatar, adding a favorite quote or other information. You can create a blog entry or upload a picture to the gallery. You can join or create a group focused on a special interest: Creative nonfiction? Teaching writing? Aging parents? The Boston Red Sox? It's up to you. Have fun and explore the different features.

Also, take note of the other members. Visit their profiles. Leave a comment on a wall or send an instant message inviting someone to become a friend.

The blog is a great place to to do informal writing that you may or may not want to share with others. You can use your blog as a private journal that you don't publish at all.

Or you can work on entries privately and save them a drafts until you feel they are ready to share, and then publish them. When you decide to publish a blog, you can make it visible to friends only, to members only, or to everyone who visits the site.

If you wish, you can tag your entries with keywords so that others can find them more easily.

In short, the blog is what you make it.