how can we make writing subject more interesting?

:(
Dear teachers...,
My name is netty. I am from malaysia. I have been teaching for almost three years now ( i'm still new in this field) I love my job very much. I also love my students and enjoy teaching them this subject. However, my students are mostly from the lower level of proficiency. This is because most of them come from the lower socio-economic background. They are not exposed to this language. Everytime i come in to class, i would tell them the importance of this language globally and how they need to try to acquire this simple but valuable language.
when teaching, i don't really have problem with the other skills; reading, listening and speaking ( my students tried hard speaking in english, even when their grammar gets horrible ). However, when it comes to writing, they got scared and started to panic. i get worried. Especially when doing the exam. i told them many times that writing is supposed to the best of all skills to be learnt when learning the language. i even tried bringing them to the computer lab and register for Yahoo. Mail..and asked them to write to each other and send the mail. They did enjoy the activity. But when i ask them to write on a piece of paper, they got panic again and start making mistakes. it shows that they are not so confident when doing the actual writing( having to 'write' and not 'type')
so i figure, maybe they can write, but using the computer. And i try to change my style when writing lesson comes in. I would ask them to go the lab and type their assignments. i found out that they are able to finish the short essays easily.
And now, my students are also sending me e-mails. So i think computers have helped me and my students in so many ways.
CAN I ASK FOR MORE TIPS WHEN TEACHING WRITING USING THE COMPUTER? And please suggest any useful websites for my further reference. I really want my students to be able to master the skill and to be able to use the useful website on the internet when learning English.
thank you. :D

[RonBee]

I am not a professional teacher, but perhaps Tdol will have a suggestion or two. I am glad that you are making progress and finding interesting things for the kids to do. Perhaps you could have them post some things on UsingEnglish. They might, for example, post some short notes telling some things about themselves. Or perhaps they will want to ask some questions.

:)

[Tdol]

Here are a few sites:
http://www.usingenglish.com/links/Writing_Skills/

Some blogs they can read and comment in:
http://www.usingenglish.com/links/Co...guage/Weblogs/

It would be a good idea to get them to use the computers to communicate, as you did with the emails. Through forums and blogs, they can see that they can get quick answers and replies and will start to see that their writing can be used directlyto communicate, rather than produce something that gets corrected by a teacher and returned. Once they have started doing that,they will pick up more confidence.

Many students are internet shy at first because they think they will be judged harshly, which is not the case.