
Suffering from writer’s block? Avoid panicking or thinking you are not talented enough to create something unique in a timely manner since the EssayService is here to help. Believe it, or not a lot of us have engaged in creative essay writing in one way or another at some point in our lives. In this article, we will explore fun, interactive ways which one may use to surpass the difficulties of picking up good creative paper topics.
CONTENTS
- What is a Creative Essay
- Popular Topics and Creative Paper Ideas
- How To Combine The Art of Essay Writing and Storytelling
- How To Tackle the Creative College Essay
- How To Structure a Creative Essay
- What Other Types of Papers Involve Creative Writing
- The Narrative Essay
- The Admission Essay
- The Personal Essay
- The Descriptive Essay
- Creative Essay Example
- Bonus: Printable Creative Writing Worksheet (PDF)
- Get the Best Ideas From Our Professional Essay Writers
What is a Creative Essay?
Regarding trying to explain how to write a creative essay, it is best to start by defining it to help us break it down the concept. Mostly such assignments will require the student to create an intriguing fictional scenario, which may be based on real events, designed to fit a set of given criteria. Thus, simply put one may say the secret to finding good creative essay topics can be found by letting our imagination run wild. As strange as it may seem at first to engage in such activities since academic papers are usually quite objective and factual, seeking to communicate concrete ideas or solid arguments in a clear and concise manner. However, as different and unrelated the two may seem at first it is important to realize that what they both have in common is a unique set of writing techniques capable of making the task much easier. Both factual and creative essays are meant to be read by experts in the field and the general population. Thus it is crucial to maintain their interest in the piece.
One thing to admire about the art of creative writing is that it has survived the test of time as it has endured various schools of thought critiquing its existence. Thus, what we will be exploring in the article are the elements which have secured its survival and how you should apply them in college. Using these items accordingly will give you the best possible sources of inspiration. Now that we have a basic understanding of what this assignment requires from us it is time to have a look at what kind of topics and themes produce the best results.
Popular Topics and Creative Paper Ideas
In case you have not been given any creative college essay prompts or have been looking for a starting point, here are some general ideas that could help guide you in the right direction.
- What if dinosaurs came back to life? What would we do as a response?
- Walk us through what it felt like to fall in love for the first time. A more romantic approach to any creative college essay assignment.
- Describe how you see the end of the world or explain why you think it is eternal?
- Explore religious themes like the existence of God or Heaven and Hell. What makes you know these things are a certainty?
- Create a scenario where a meteorite hit the earth, who knows what mysteries can be found near its remains.
- Do you like detective stories? Maybe you should give it a try in a creative essay!
- If World War 3 was to break out today whose side would you take and why? Is such a thing even reasonable after we have seen the result of two world wars already?
- Let us say you just got back home, but everything has changed on the inside from the furniture to the bathroom. Looking through the house, you realize nobody is home. Nonetheless, your keys opened the door. What will happen next in our creative college essay?
- What defines good and evil for us? More so who decides such a fact? Why is there such a controversy behind it?
- Your body has been frozen for 100 years, but now the slumber has ended. What does the future look like 100 years from now? Would you try to find your family or explore the future thinking they are all gone?
- If prose is not working out, why not try put your thought into rhymes? Poetry is a prevalent form of creative essay writing.
We hope these general ideas help shed some light on how one should begin exploring their creative essay writing ideas and turn them into fascinating topics for us all to enjoy reading. In the following sections, we will cover some effective tactics to use when tackling the assignment.
How To Combine the Art of Essay Writing and Storytelling
We all have our unique gifts, however, if we find ourselves having writer’s block or not knowing how to combine academic paper writing with the art of storytelling effectively then here’s how it’s done.
- Explain to yourself the main idea of the creative college essay as well as the main character, whether it be the antagonist or protagonist. Does it all make sense and flow smoothly?
- All academic assignments and creative essay topics must have an introduction and conclusion, they might be named or expressed differently, but the core idea does not change.
- Character development and the conflicts occurring between them serve as the main body of the piece and thus should have the same impactful effect on the audience.
- The creative essay topics make use of supporting characters the same way we use supporting arguments to help highlight a particular concept.
- Make sure to connect all the creative paper ideas and components as you would the statistics in a business plan, to show any existing correlations between the data in the discussion.
- Another way to think about is like a cause and effect essay which gets a little bit more imaginative than usual, filled with mythical characters and magical adventures.
Finding any means to make the assignment more relatable to one’s self is the key to breaking it down into reachable goals. Nonetheless, keep in mind at all times that it is vital to maintaining the reader’s interest at all times throughout the paper. We hope some of these suggestions come in handy when tackling your creative college essay.
How To Tackle the Creative College Essay
- Identify your audience from the start
Before one begins to set the tone in their creative college essay, it is vital to identify our audience as this help narrow down the style which the piece should follow. Let us pause briefly and give it some consideration. If we are to perform beyond expectation, we must find the means to keep the readers hooked and left them wanting more. Thus, let us have a look at who our audience might be while putting our wits to the test with some creative paper ideas.
In most cases, the audience will be our college/university lecturers or our high school teachers, so there is not so much to worry about there. It is not an unknown fact that these professors quite often have to grade a large number of creative essays, meaning they have a pretty good idea of what the result should look like. If they have set the prompts themselves then even more so they are anticipating a particular type of response. However, this is a chance to make your creative essay stand out from the rest. Keep in mind there is a very high possibility they might be slightly bored by the time they read your piece. Hence it is vital to capitalize on the opportunity. You know what they say, beat the iron while it’s hot!
Lastly, a rather forgotten fact is the lecturers grading all these creative college essays are on a tight schedule as grades need to be submitted by a particular date. With that in mind, revisit your piece as many times as possible before submitting it since examiners will most likely not have the time or energy to go over poorly written passages and try make sense of it all. One of the best ways to avoid this during the editing stage is by structuring the creative college essay sentences in a succinct fashion which is easy to read and gets to the point without any hesitation.
- Brainstorm potential creative essay topics or use the given prompts
Having a readily given prompt can be a great help in such a situation as one may develop their creative essay plot around it. Nonetheless, if you have to start from scratch think of something that will most likely not be overused by everyone. It is often considered a good idea to bounce ideas off your classmates as it will help create something unique. If that does not give the desired result try going into a quiet room and jot down every single creative idea you have. It might not sound like much, but it will generate a starting point which can later be defined and edited. Remember, these are just drafts.
Short Creative College Essay Example:
Dinosaurs come back to life in New York from the ancient history museum. By eating people, they regain their flesh and evolve from just simple bone.
When I first met him, I thought he would never even say a word to anyone. It took him about a week before he even said hi, but by this point, I figured he was a complete jerk.
She was walking down the road near Westminster Abbey as the electricity went off in the entire district. To her surprise there seemed to be nobody around to ask what’s happened. As her journey home continued, she was not prepared for what awaited her around the corner.
- Always record your thoughts
As previously mentioned having a lot of variety is good in creative essay writing since it allows you to explore various possibilities for the story and its plot. Thus, even when having what seems to be an uninspired thought write it down, it could come in handy later. Some of the greatest ideas we have often come at random moments so be prepared when tackling such an assignment.
- Grab the reader’s attention using witty metaphors as well as interesting settings or locations
This is where things get a little bit tricky in our creative college essay assignment. It is not a mystery that we all like different things, it’s why there are so many flavors of Ben n Jerry’s ice cream which we can enjoy. The same spectrum of variety is what should be included in our use of metaphors, allegories, and other literary elements to spice up our creative college essay. Some of the best places to take advantage of these are considered to be for example when trying to explain a rather complex meaning, or comparison one may choose to make use of an analogy to convey the meaning better. Doing so helps the reader visualize the concept being explained leading to the experience becoming more relatable to the reader as well as a tendency to become personally involved in the piece. What some writers do in their creative college essay is describe one of their characters will as being similar to a flowing river. When doing, we can illustrate how obstacles throughout their journey might impede them, but just like the river, they will find a way to course right through it in time.
Effectively making use of these elements is just a part of hooking the reader. The next step is bringing the creative essay to life using fascinating settings and exotic locations that are bound to keep the audience interested. It is quite similar to seasoning a meal; it just doesn’t taste the same without the perfect amount of added ingredients.
Short Creative Essay Sample:
How To Structure A Creative Essay
In today’s academic environment college papers can have a multitude of structures, formats and referencing styles. However, if you have not been given a particular form to run with by the lecturer, then it is strongly advised to get acquainted with the three-act structure. What it does for our creative college essay is give it a basic skeleton to build our ideas upon. So without any further introduction let’s get into what this type of creative essay structure means.
For those of you who are not familiar with what the three-act structure and what it entails regarding a creative college essay, then do not worry since it is not extremely complicated if explained adequately. In essence, the role of such a format is to establish a plotline which will have all the necessary elements to produce the desired result from the audience. One can say they are similar to the acts of a play. However, the transition between scenes, in this case, can be done differently according to the writer’s vision.
The first stage of tackling any creative essay ideas starts by creating a set-up. Here one should look to create a scene for the reader in which the main concept of the piece can be introduced without losing their interest. The best way to hook the audience is by having a compelling plotline and intriguing characters. Thus, the implications here for us when trying to develop the idea of our creative college essay are:
- Establish their background details
- Who are they?
- Why are they relevant to us?
- Are they related to each other? If so, then how?
- Where do they live?
- What is the determining factor in how we judge each character?
In essence, our goal here now is to use the opportunity to introduce climax into the creative college essay story. Thus leading to a potential turning point which is always bound to occur in the plotline. Overall this section should have set the tone and the scene of the confrontation that will occur between the chosen characters.
The second stage of our creative essay’s structure involves developing the previously mentioned battle into the center point of the piece. The main reason in doing so is that it creates a puzzle the main character or the protagonist must solve to achieve their goals. This usually occurs with numerous obstacles along the way trying to impede our hero’s path due to the utter importance of the task at hand. A good creative essay example is always detective stories since they are filled with many trials and tribulations. For example, our private eye Desmond discovers something is wrong with a crime scene photo his partner has been describing as lacking in color. Who could have known that a shade of grey can hide so many things? Thus, by describing the situation in our creative college essay as such not only have we involved the supporting characters into the main action but also shows Desmond, the protagonist, getting closer to figuring out the murder case.
And last but not least, being a favorite of many is the resolution of our story where the action should reach its climax in a highly dramatic scene. In this section look to summarize and conclude the confrontation between the two rival characters in the creative college essay while also subtly expressing your view on how it all transpired into the current events. Such an element is an opportunity to tie up any loose ends that might have been left unresolved throughout the story as they served the purpose of building up the climax. One may also choose to leave the conclusion open-ended as most due in the cases of sequel novels, films, books, articles and even creative college essay topics.
What Other Types of Papers Involve Creative Writing?
It is not a mystery that many assignments throughout academia are often interlinked and can turn out to be quite similar. In the case of the creative essay, there are numerous types of papers which borrow or share some of their elements to it as was previously mentioned while we were exploring how to combine the art of storytelling with academic writing. So without any further adieu, here are some of the creative essay’s family members:
The Narrative Essay
Such assignments are similar in the sense since they seek to tell a story that carries forth some form of a life lesson which can be expressed in the shape of an anecdotal tale. It is one of the closest cousins to the creative college essay as they both paint pictures with words at the highest level. The primary goal is to describe the plot and its progression while also enlightening the audience in one way or another.
Related: HOW TO WRITE A NARRATIVE ESSAY
The Admission Essay
It is important to note that the task does not get creative regarding the facts being presented such as where you attended high school, etc. but it does become relevant in the way one chooses to present himself to the examiner. Think about it, they have to read the same format and type of boring, lifeless applications over and over again. Help yours stand out by making it exciting to read through the use of the right metaphors and associations.
Related: HOW TO WRITE A COLLEGE ADMISSION ESSAY
The Personal Essay
These types of papers are often quite hard to define since they are up to the individual to decide how they wish to express themselves. The piece is entirely focused on one’s perception of self and the world, thus making it a free realm of artistic expression. Think of it as a very open-ended creative college essay
The Descriptive Essay
When tackling such a task the student is often asked to give an in-depth analysis of a particular object, event, individual, etc. Whatever the case may be examiners are looking to see a new angle on the issue, since all the controversy behind is what makes it so interesting. The assignment is designed to inspire creative essay writing through the use of descriptors and comparisons.
Related: HOW TO WRITE A DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY
Creative Essay Example
The next day, on a beautiful summer’s morning Tyler and Paulo had been digging in grandma’s back garden since she wants to put up a new crop of chili peppers. Everything was going just fine, and they had made quick work of their task as soon it was time to go and play football in the park. Suddenly, Tyler hit something hard with the shovel and proceeded to uncover what was there. He yelled at Paulo to come over and give him a hand with the old rusty pipe that’s going to mess up the crop. However, in minutes of them digging out what they thought was a pipe an old dusty metal crested chest is uncovered from its hidden burial ground. Both of them paused for a second wondering whether it would be a good idea to have a look inside. Tyler could not recall Nana ever mentioning anything special being back there. But without any hesitation, the boys make for the lock. Despite their initial curiosity, they come to a halt when they see something resembling an inscription that was at first unnoticeable due to the dirt this old chest had accumulated over the years. As they begin reading what is written on the small golden engravement right next to the lock the air slowly starts to get colder and colder.
Bonus: Printable Creative Writing Worksheet (PDF)
Topic: CHARACTER MOTIVATION
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