Creative essay writing is a type of work that must be approached through the lens of analysis and strategic thinking. However, it also factors in elements of creativity, such as storytelling, to help illustrate points in more interesting ways.
Many famous authors have turned to writing essays to help them explore points in more detail. JRR Tolkien famously produced many essays on topics ranging from worldbuilding to ancient stories like Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Depending on the subject that you would like to pursue, it’s essential to implement various literary devices like characterization or using the 5 senses to improve your prose writing.
Although it’s not the same as persuasive or argumentative writing, researching the subject is essential if you’re to achieve the academic levels that creative essay writing strives to achieve.
In this guide, you can find some top tips to help give your essays a more creative flair.
Tips For Creative Essay Writing
Below, you can find some top tips for creative essay writing. They’re designed to help you with you everything from planning and structure to helping you write in a compelling way.
1. Create a Concept Outline
Before you start with a creative writing idea, it’s important to hone in on the key elements of the essay. This will help you create a solid outline.
An essay should always begin with a solid introduction. In academic essays, this should explain in depth what the article is going to cover, as well as the findings.
The following sections should be devoted to proving your point, considering all sides of the argument, before providing your own critical analysis and opinion in the conclusion.
If you’ve never tried outline writing before, you could check out Writing Universe. There you can discuss what you would like to do with an expert who’ll offer guidance and support.
With their help, your writing should flow smoothly.
2. Tell a Story
The majority of creative essays will use either a descriptive or a narrative tone. They may achieve this by focusing on the characters or human elements of the piece.
It may mean that you have to deviate away from classic essay writing styles, which are more formal and academic. Instead, writers should employ illustrative examples and use prose writing devices to help create vivid imagery in the reader’s mind.
When your story includes realistic aspects and avoids being vague, your narration becomes more accessible and dynamic.
3. Have a Thesis Statement
Although it may no longer be a requirement in some essay writing circles, including a thesis statement can be a very helpful thing. It will help you to make your message across but also will help you maintain your focus as you go through the writing process.
It is one of a few useful creative writing techniques that allow you to lead your readers to the culmination of your piece, as well as give them a clear picture of what it’s about. If you are unsure about how to create a thesis or essay statement, think about describing your creative essay in several words or two sentences only, just like an elevator pitch.
4. Use A Hook Sentence And Include A Moral Lesson
Including a strong opening sentence (also known as a hook) in your piece is a vital part of creative essay writing.
It could, for example, be quite an unusual sentence that follows with an explanation that comes naturally or narrows things down. You could also open with a very bold statement that stirs controversy or quite simply grabs the reader’s attention.
The same goes for the conclusion. It’s always important to finish on a strong point. And it’s in this section where you could look to include a bit of a moral lesson or ask questions that could lead to further essays or pieces of research.
Editing And Proofreading Improves Your Creative Essay Writing
Before submitting your creative essay, pay attention to the proofreading and editing process because it’s the most efficient way to improve things and make your content clearer.
If you have a cryptic idea or something abstract that you have discussed in 2-3 pages, it might not be accessible to your college professor or someone who will have to evaluate it.
So in short:
- Always check for spelling and grammatical errors. You could use free tools like Grammarly or Hemingway to help you with this.
- Read your work aloud. This enables you to uncover any parts that don’t make sense or any awkward sentence structures.
- Ask another person to read over it. They can offer fresh perspectives.
- Before editing your creative essay, set it aside for a few days or weeks so that when you return to it you’ll have fresh eyes.
We hope these creative essay writing tips have been of use and if you need any help or support, please contact us. You can also head here to learn more about the best essays on creative writing, or if you want to learn how to write a literary essay, go here. Head here to learn more about what to do with a degree in creative writing
About The Author
Mark Wooten loves to write and explore all the possible ways to express creativity and inspiration in writing. As an educator and content editor, Mark knows how to improve things and happily shares his skills. Follow Mark to take your writing to another level and expand your creative horizons.
Most nights you can find him up into the wee hours scribbling away or watching the NBA.
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