http://www.signwriting.org/
Take an hour of your time and check out some of the signs and directions on this website. I'm really impressed how easily it is to pick it up.
This would be a great tool to help a close friend of mine who occasionally has to look up a sign in an ASL dictionary to pick a written English word. Since he already knows ASL, he should be able to "draw" his thoughts up.
Phonemes in ASL would be the smallest contrastive unit in signs. This gives similar signs completely different meanings using subtle differences in handshape orientation and location.
FATHER, DEER
APPLE, ONION
Also, you would not sign flour the same as flower. You should finger-spell flour.
Steve
