To type in Chinese, the easiest and most powerful way is to download the google pinyin input at http://tools.google.com/pinyin/.

To learn how to install Chinese language pack in your computer click here.

Composition Topics
You will find a list of composition topics at various levels.

http://www.chinese-outpost.com/grammarg/gram.asp
Verbs and word order, expressing "tense" in Chinese, particles, measure words, question formats.

Character Writing

cchar.com
cchar.com provides free ONLINE information about animation and stroke order. It covers over 10,000 characters in simplified and traditional characters commonly used in China and Taiwan. Note that it adopts the habit of writing Chinese by a hard pen, so that it is very easy to learn Chinese characters.  In addition, it provides simplified and traditional character stroke order list and animation ONLINE.

http://www.chineseliteracy.net/index.htm
Order a complete course package of textbook, workbook, and one-year subscription to the interactive material on the chineseliteracy.net website that will help you to learn the 1,000 most frequently used characters.

http://www.chinese-outpost.com/charrahc/char.asp
Basic strokes of Chinese characters, stroke order principles , number of strokes, construction principles, traditional vs. simplified characters, radicals and dictionaries, character "styles".

http://www.bluetec.com.cn/asp/mymandarin/class_book.htm
Shows stroke order of characters in 15 textbooks.

http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/azi/azi.htm
Animated stroke order of many characters in both simplified and traditional formats. You can even request characters that are not on the list.

Chinese Radical Exam
http://execpc.com/~mbosley/
A study aid and test for beginners, covering 108 of the most common radicals that are also characters in their own right .

Fascinating Chinese Characters
http://www.china-guide.com/characte.htm#Characters
CD program teaching how to write Chinese characters.

Learn to write the characters in Integrated Chinese Books 1 & 2