In the middle of writing a term paper, or after they've put the kids to bed, women around the world are sitting down by the light of the computer screen -- and updating their blogs.

They do it to keep in touch with far-flung friends and family, to connect with people who share similar stories, or to bypass the complicated world of publishing and just get their writing and their 2 cents out.

And while the anonymity made possible by cyberspace might seem to encourage bloggers to put forth an identity of their choosing, to be whoever they want to be, as it were, young women are going there for the exact opposite reason: to be themselves, completely.

"Well, blogging is different because anybody of any skill can do it. It's very cool to be able to see what other people write about no matter what their skill level is," said Shea Donato, 21, a local blogger and recent Carroll graduate. "Everyone has something to say or opinions to express."

Donato, who is from Idaho, said she started blogging just to keep her friends and family up to date on her life.

"Just about anything can inspire me to write," says Donato, whose blog (www.cellar_door.blogs.com) is an eclectic mix of personal anecdotes, political and social commentary, photos and more. "Anything really -- funny story at work, a random news article that catches my eye. It's really all kinds of things."

Allison Dudley of New Jersey began for similar reasons: "It was just the 'thing' to do in college," said Dudley. "Everyone had their blogs where they would post pictures and bitch about profs and plan parties ... so I basically just joined in then to be part of that whole little dormitory world. It's evolved since then."

"I think blogging is different from so many other outlets though, because it's real time, and because it allows immediate interaction with readers," adds Dudley. "It's not 'just for me' like a journal probably would be, and a blog doesn't have to wait for approval from an editor, or a publication date ... your blog is entirely up to you, so you can say what you want, when you want."

Unlike Donato and Dudley, Helenan Rebecca Stanfel, 34, began blogging for a very specific reason.

In 2004, just a few months after she gave birth to her first child, a boy named Andrew, Stanfel was diagnosed with a rare chronic illness called sarcoidosis.

"I think when you become ill in that chronic way, it's a very isolating experience," says Stanfel. "A lot of people don't know what it's like."

Stanfel decided to use her blog Chronic Town (www.rs.4030.com) as a way "to catalogue what life is like at the intersection of sickness and motherhood."

On one hand, she says, she wanted to claim her experience by writing about it. At the same time, says Stanfel, writing helps her to get a little bit of distance from what she is going through.

And since she is someone with an illness that is rare and misunderstood even at the highest levels of medicine, connecting with people who also have sarcoidosis has been a boon to Stanfel, as well as the strangers with the disease who read her blog, people as far as Australia and Germany.

"The refrain you hear is how lonely they are," she says. "So it's sort of community building also."

Stanfel, who is also a creative writing teacher, believes women have latched on to blogging simply because they have something to say, an experience to share, powerful, unique voices -- but don't have a venue in the traditional writing world to channel those things into.

Like many women who take blogging seriously, Stanfel is also a writer and enjoys crafting entries that are entertaining to read, even if they do have to do with her latest round of doctor's appointments.

One surprising result of Stanfel's blogging is that it's improved her communication with family and friends -- people she sees every day -- who have read about how frustrating the reactions of others can be to someone who is ill.

"That's something I was not expecting at all," says Stanfel. "In a lot of ways I think I'm teaching people how to respond to people with chronic illness."

"Never, ever tell a chronically ill person, 'You don't look sick,'" Stanfel writes in one of her earliest entries, a sort of "how to" manual for interacting with those who suffer from chronic illness.

"Thank you so much for writing this! It should be required reading for everyone with a chronic illness and anyone coming into contact with them," writes a reader in return.

Is anybody listening?

"The biggest difference is that the words just seem to have more power when you know other people are going to read them ... the power of connecting with other people and knowing that you are not alone," says Kate Swoboda, who has been writing a blog called Self Taught Girl (www.selftaughtgirl.com) since 2000, and blogging even longer than that.

Now a writer and teacher living in the San Francisco Bay Area, Swoboda started blogging as a young girl, after breaking up with a boyfriend she was "half engaged" to, even though she was only in high school.

"So I had all of this teenage angst going on," says Swoboda. "Being like, 18, I had always loved writing, but at that point I was still too scared to say: 'I want to be a writer.'"

She started out writing a zine, but found it to be too expensive and complicated. Then, she discovered Geocities (now Yahoo!) was giving away free Web sites.

"This was all before blogger software came out," says Swoboda, who has since taught herself HTML programming. "I really liked the idea of online journaling because sometimes I had thoughts I just wanted to get out. Being 18 and so unsure of myself, I could just put myself out there."

Swoboda suffered through major depression, an eating disorder and other self-destructive behaviors, blogging all the way.

While it wasn't what got her out of the depression, Swoboda says that blogging definitely helped her in those difficult times.

Swoboda says it's a stereotype that people blog because they are friendless, but it does seem to be true that women who turn to blogging often do because the people they would naturally connect with are nowhere to be found in their immediate vicinity.

Swoboda, for instance, grew up in Kansas City, Mo., in a rough area of town.

"When I was in high school, I had no interest in getting drunk; I didn't have money to go to the mall every weekend -- I was working at the mall every weekend," says Swoboda. "I feel like a lot of people are able to connect who otherwise wouldn't have been able to connect."

According to Dudley, that goes for those who feel alone in their suffering as well as those with uncommon interests.

"You'll always find a sympathetic ear somewhere in the world," says Dudley. "None of my hometown friends may care what I think about British politics, but I know I'll have a really decent conversation/debate about it if I post an entry on the topic with people I may not have ever met before."

To reveal or not to reveal

For some, a blog is no different than an online journal, where they reveal their uncensored, innermost thoughts.

Even though a blog is technically available to anyone who might want to read it -- like your mother or your boss -- many young women prefer to write more candidly, without identifying details, and keep their blogs hidden from friends and family.

After attempting for many years to keep her blog under the radar of people who know her -- "I would have told them about it if I had wanted them to read it" -- Swoboda finally gave up and added a letter to people who know her as part of the "about me" section of her site, dubbed "The In Real Life Manifesto."

"I definitely have rules," says Swoboda, who is much less forthcoming online than she used to be. "I hesitate to write in too much detail about the specific difficulties I've had with family and friends."

Swoboda also uses pseudonyms when writing about anyone who doesn't have a site of their own.

Stanfel says she is similarly sensitive to privacy issues; just because she wants to write about her life doesn't necessarily mean the people in her life want to be written about.

And then there's the issue of safety.

"It's safe if you're smart about it," says Donato. Nowhere on my site can you find what my address is or my phone number or things like that."

"I know I personally am extremely careful about what I make public and private info," agrees Dudley, who will also sometimes control who can and cannot view a particular entry.

"I know other friends/bloggers who have run into real problems with the things they post being used against them in real life ... co-workers showing things to bosses, or people trying to breakup friendships or romances ... that kind of thing," says Dudley. "And then, of course, there's always the stories about the casual blogger who suddenly finds a federal agent at their door for something they've written."

But as far as what she puts in the actual entries?

"Nah, no censoring at all. In fact, I think I'm much more free with my thoughts and opinions -- and language -- on my blog than I ever am in face-to-face encounters," Dudley says.

Donato has also heard of people being discriminated against by employers or admissions counselors because they've been outspoken about their political beliefs online.

"I don't think I'd want to go to a school or work at a place that would discriminate against me because of my viewpoint or feelings on a certain issue," says Donato. "So I'm willing to take that risk. It keeps me from getting involved with a future school or employer that I won't be able to be myself around."

Blogging into the future

"These days, it's actually become a part of my life. I feel like I live things twice," says Swoboda, who has created a second Web site, www.kateswoboda.com, to promote her writing, art and Reiki practice.

Not only does Swoboda now have a tribe of regular readers and a pretty sophisticated site, she has become "real life" friends with several people she met through blogging.

Dudley also says that one of her favorite things about blogging is the people she has met through the medium.

"It was never something I expected when I started blogging five years ago, because only a handful of friends ever read what I wrote then," says Dudley. "But as I got better at the whole blogging thing, I started to find new readers who actually look forward to what I have to say and who values my thoughts and opinions on issues.

"I did a whole series of political posts during election season, and it was great to hear that I was able to help influence so many undecided voters. Or even less serious stuff. ...

"I get comments from people all the time who are like, 'I was just waiting to see what you'd have to say about the Joe and Sally celebrity breakup.' "

Writes Swoboda in her online profile: "Rainer Maria Rilke once wrote that we should 'learn to love the questions themselves,' and this is what I try to do with my life every day. Somehow, this space is a part of all of that."