How to write a creative essay: Simplified guide

By Evans Nov 05, 2020

You probably don't know this yet, but essay writing at the University and College levels go beyond analytical essay writing many people are used to. Chances are, you will write at least five essays by the time you graduate. Of the five essays, at least one of them will be a creative essay. This is especially the case if you're pursuing an art course. So, what exactly is a creative essay? How should you go about writing one? Read on to learn more.

What is a creative essay?

Think of creative essay writing as any style of academic essay writing that forces a student to look past set essay structures and guidelines. It is more or less about writing a story in a way that will keep the reader captivated. The story doesn't have to be true. All it needs is a compelling plot and path. The ultimate objective here is not just to communicate and educate but also to entertain. That's exactly why language skills often come in handy in creative essay writing.

Type of Creative Essays

Not all creative essays are the same. There are, in fact, as much as five different types of creative essays. They all have one thing in common, though – each one of them is designed to give you ample room to be creative. Your best bet is to, therefore, choose a topic that will make it easy for you to be creative. You can then choose any of the following types of creative essays to achieve your goals.

Narrative Essay – It is in so many ways, like novel writing, only that it is usually short. You can use it to write either imaginary or real events. What's important here is that you show, not tell, your ideas. To make the most out of a narrative essay, come up with a plot, well-written prose, and as many descriptive details as possible.

Admission Essay – It is becoming increasingly popular mostly because it is a mandatory part of the university and college admission process. Once well written, it gives a student an opportunity to stand out from hundreds or even thousands of students applying for the same spot. Think of the admission essay as a way to talk about yourself in a creative way.

Personal Essay – It is similar to the admission essay. The only difference here in that the personal essay is more aggressive. It comes in handy when you want to talk about yourself, personal experiences, and your goals. It seeks to persuade the reader to look at things from your point of view; that a particular event or aspect plays a key role in your life.

Descriptive Essay – You can use a descriptive essay to describe just about any topic. Once you choose the topic, describe it the best way you can.

Lyric Essay – It is similar to the descriptive essay, only that it makes greater use of description and imagery.

Americanism Essay – Americanism essays are extremely popular with American University and College scholarship committees. Think of it as the ‘This is why I’m proud to be American’ essay.

Reflection Essay – It gives the writer an opportunity to provide feedback on an event or a topic. That means it is ideal for both positive and negative criticism of an event.

Creative Essay Writing Techniques

It doesn’t matter which type of creative essay you want to write. The rules on how to write each one of them don’t really change. Here’s how to go about the whole writing process.

Understand The Reader/Audience

As with any other form of creative writing, you have to first consider the reader before anything or anyone else. That way, you’ll find it easy to pique the reader’s interest and hold on to it throughout the essay.

Start off Right

Put your best foot forward and start off with a bang! Your opening paragraph should make the reader want to read more and more. The first paragraph is always about grabbing the reader's attention. You could use a bold phrase or a clear and concise description of an experience you had.

Use Traditional Creative Essay Writing Structures

Traditionally, creative essays are divided into three main acts. There's the set-up, the confrontation, and lastly, the resolution. The set-up allows the writer to introduce the main players or the situation. Confrontation, on the other hand, allows the reader to shift into the main issue that needs a solution swiftly. The last part, the climax, is where the issue you highlighted in the confrontation part gets highlighted.

Use Metaphors

You can’t go wrong with metaphors. They make it easy for the writer to express their ideas and easy for the reader to digest what’s written. In a creative essay, it’s a good idea to use an analogy to provide readers with an image in their minds that will make it easy for them to understand a concept or an idea you’re explaining.

Provide Detail

Always keep in mind that when writing a creative essay, the detail is everything. The details you provide must tug at the reader's emotions. Without deep details, your essay will be stale and boring. You'll end up only providing facts. Spruce up the whole write-up by providing detail. In simple words, your creative essay becomes 'alive' once you're keen on providing details. Be sure to be systematic and organized with easy detail you provide.

Note that providing detail also means citing the relevant text and statistics to back up your concepts. This means you have no choice but to research for accurate information. If you have to cite an unreported or an inaccurate source, then point out in the footnotes the veracity and accuracy of what you’re citing.

Edit

No writer ever gets it to write the first time. This leaves you with no choice but to proofread your essay for purposes of not just weeding out typos and grammar errors but to also rephrase ideas to ensure they can be easily understood.

Get A Second Opinion

Many writers don't consider the second opinion as part of essay writing. Strangely, this single step is sometimes the difference between well-written essays and average ones. Request a friend of a colleague to read your essay. Allow them to give their unbiased opinion and feedback the make necessary adjustments if you have to.

Final Thoughts

Writing a creative essay is all about expressing your ideas in a way that doesn't just seek to impart or communicate an idea but also to entertain. Think of it as a craft or a skill that requires one to think outside the box. This doesn't mean in any way that you have to be a wordsmith. All you need to do is ensure your writing flows in a way that's easy for the reader to follow an idea, experience, or concept without getting bored. You can also ask one of our essay experts to write a creative essay for you