best creative writing essay

Creative Writing Essays: Tips, Examples, and Strategies

Creative writing essays are a unique type of academic writing that lets you show your creativity and imagination while still following the rules of academic writing. Creative writing essays are not like other types of essays that rely heavily on research and facts. Instead, they depend on your ability to tell a story, create vivid images, and make your readers feel something.

Writing creatively is important for anyone who wants to express themselves in a unique and interesting way, not just fiction and poetry writers. Whether you are writing a personal essay , a descriptive essay, or an argumentative essay, adding creative elements can help make your writing more interesting and memorable.

In this article, we’ll talk about what to do and what not to do when writing a creative essay . We’ll look at tips, examples, and ways to write well. By following these rules, you can learn how to write creatively while still meeting the requirements of academic writing.

What You'll Learn

Understanding Creative Writing Essays

To write a good creative writing essay, you need to know how this unique type of academic writing works.

A creative writing essay is a type of academic essay that uses elements of creative writing, like telling a story, building characters, and using literary devices. The goal of a creative writing essay is to get the reader’s attention and hold it while still getting the message or argument across.

There are different kinds of creative writing essays, such as personal essays, essays that describe something, and essays that tell a story . Each of these types of essays needs a different way of writing them, but they all need to include creative elements.

Dos of Creative Writing Essays

Here are some dos of creative writing essays to keep in mind when writing:

1. Choosing a strong and interesting topic: Choose a topic that is interesting to you and that will engage your readers. This will help to keep your writing focused and engaging.

2. Developing a clear and engaging thesis statement: Your thesis statement should clearly convey the message or argument you are making in your essay . It should be engaging and capture the reader’s attention.

3. Creating well-rounded and dynamic characters: Characters are an important part of any creative writing essay. Develop characters that are well-rounded and dynamic, with their own unique personalities, motivations, and flaws.

4. Using sensory details to enhance the story: Sensory details, such as sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures, can help to bring yourwriting to life and create a more immersive experience for your readers. Use vivid and descriptive language to evoke the senses and create a more vivid world for your readers to imagine.

5. Incorporating dialogue effectively: Dialogue can be a powerful tool for conveying information and developing characters. Use dialogue to reveal character traits, advance the plot, and create tension.

6. Utilizing literary devices to enhance the story: Literary devices like metaphors, similes, symbols, and images can make a story more interesting and help the reader understand it better. Use these tools sparingly and on purpose to make your effect stronger.

By using these dos in your creative writing essay, you can make it more interesting, easy to remember, and effective.

To write a good creative writing essay, you need to use your imagination, skills, and knowledge. By learning the basics of this unique type of writing and following the dos in this article, you can make a more interesting and effective creative writing essay. Remember to pick a strong and interesting topic, make characters that are well-rounded, use details and dialogue well, and use literary devices to make the story better.

Don’ts of Creative Writing Essays

To avoid common pitfalls when writing a creative writing essay, here are some don’ts to keep in mind:

1. Overusing adjectives and adverbs: While descriptive language is important in creative writing, overusing adjectives and adverbs can make your writing feel cluttered and overwhelming.

2. Using cliches and predictable plot lines: Creative writing is all about bringing something new and fresh to the table. Using cliches and predictable plot lines can make your writing feel unoriginal and uninspired.

3. Writing flat and uninteresting characters: Characters are an important part of any creative writing essay. Flat and uninteresting characters can make your writing feel dull and unengaging.

4. Forgetting to revise and edit: Like any form of academic writing, it is important to revise and edit your creative writing essay to ensure that it is polished and error-free.

5. Using weak verbs and passive voice: Weak verbs and passive voice can make your writing feel flat and uninteresting. Use strong and active verbs to create a more dynamic and engaging narrative.

Inspiring Creative Writing Essay Examples

To gain a better understanding of what makes a successful creative writing essay, here are some inspiring examples to analyze:

1. The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

2. “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe

3. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

4. “A Good Man is Hard to Find”by Flannery O’Connor

5. “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe

6. “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber

7. “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield

8. The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost

9. The Love Song of J . Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot

10. “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell

By looking at these examples, you can see that symbolism, foreshadowing, and irony are often used in creative writing essays that work well. They also have well-thought-out characters, interesting plots, and language that evokes the senses and helps the reader picture a vivid world.

Each of these examples shows a different side of what it means to be human and helps us learn more about the world around us. These essays show how creative writing can captivate and interest readers, whether it’s about love, death, or what it’s like to be human.

Some of the most important things to learn from these examples are how important it is to have strong characters, use descriptive language well, and use literary devices to make the story better. By looking at these good examples of creative writing essays, writers can learn how to use the same techniques in their own work to make essays that are more interesting and effective.

How to Start a Creative Writing Essay with a Bang

Starting a creative writing essay in a way that captivates your reader is crucial for the success of your essay. Here are some different strategies you can use to start your essay with a bang:

1. Using attention-grabbing hooks to draw in the reader: Start with a provocative statement, a surprising fact, or a rhetorical question to pique the reader’s interest.

2. Crafting a strong opening sentence or paragraph: Create a vivid image or use descriptive language to set the scene and draw the reader into the story.

3. Starting in the middle of the action: Begin your story in the middle of a dramatic or exciting scene to immediately engage your reader.

4. Using an anecdote: Start with a personal anecdote that relates to the theme or message of your essay to draw the reader into your story.

By using attention-grabbing hooks and crafting a strong opening sentence or paragraph, you can hook your reader from the beginning and keep them engaged throughout your essay.

Elements of a Successful Creative Writing Essay

To write a successful creative writing essay, it is important to incorporate certain elements into your writing. Here are some elements to keep in mind:

1. Developing a strong plot and narrative structure: Your essay should have a clear beginning, middle, and end, with a well-developed plot that keeps the reader engaged.

2. Creating compelling and relatable characters: Your characters should be well-rounded, withunique personalities, motivations, and flaws that make them relatable and interesting to the reader.

3. Using descriptive language and sensory details: Use vivid and sensory language to create a world that the reader can imagine and visualize. This can enhance the reading experience and make your writing feel more immersive.

4. Incorporating dialogue and literary devices effectively: Dialogue can be a powerful tool for conveying information and developing characters. Literary devices like metaphor, simile, and symbolism can also be used to enhance the story and create deeper meaning.

5. Crafting a satisfying ending : Your essay should have a satisfying and conclusive ending that ties up loose ends and leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

To write a good creative writing essay, you need to use your imagination, skills, and knowledge. Use hooks and a strong first sentence or paragraph to get people interested in your essay right away. To make sure your story is successful, include things like a strong plot and story structure, interesting characters, descriptive language and sensory details, good dialogue and literary devices, and a satisfying ending. With these tips and elements in mind, you can write a powerful and memorable creative writing essay that engages and inspires your readers.

Creative Writing Essay Format

When it comes to formatting a creative writing essay, there are a few guidelines to keep in mind:

1. Use a standard font, such as Times New Roman or Arial, in 12-point size.

2. Double-space the text and use 1-inch margins on all sides.

3. Include a header with your name, the title of your essay , and the page number.

4. Use paragraph breaks to separate different ideas or sections of your essay .

5. Use italics or quotation marks to indicate dialogue or emphasize certain words or phrases.

Proper formatting is important to ensure that your work looks professional and is easy to read. By following these guidelines, you can create a polished and well-formatted creative writing essay.

When organizing and structuring your essay , consider using a clear and logical structure. This can include an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You may also want to use headings and subheadings to break up your writing into sections and make it easier to follow.

Creative Writing Essay Topics

Generating creative writing essay topics can be a fun and creative process. Here are some brainstorming techniques and examples to help you come up with ideas:

Brainstorming Techniques:

1. Freewriting: Set a timer for 10-15 minutes and write down whatever comes to mind. Don’t worry about grammar or spelling, just write freely.

2. Mind Mapping: Start with a central idea and branch out with related ideas. This can help you visualize connections between ideas and spark new ones.

3. Listing: Make a list of words or phrases that relate to a central theme or idea. This can help you see patterns and connections between ideas.

Examples of Creative Writing Essay Topics:

1. A childhood memory that shaped who you are today.

2. A personal essay about overcoming a challenge.

3. A fictional story set in a dystopian society.

4. A character study of a family member or friend .

5. A descriptive essay about a memorable place .

6. An exploration of a unique hobby or interest.

7. A persuasive essay about a social or political issue .

8. A narrative essay about a journey or adventure .

9. A creative nonfiction essay about a historical event or person.

10. A personal essay about your relationship with nature .

11. A fictional story about a time traveler.

12. An essay about a defining moment in your life .

13. A character study of a famous historical figure .

14. A descriptive essay about a favoritefood or dish.

15. A personal essay about your experience with mental health .

16. A fictional story about a haunted house.

17. A persuasive essay about the importance of education .

18. A narrative essay about a difficult decision you had to make.

19. A creative nonfiction essay about a place that has special meaning to you.

20. A personal essay about your experience with a different culture.

21. A fictional story about a person with a superpower.

22. A character study of a famous author or artist.

23. A descriptive essay about your favorite season.

24. A persuasive essay about the benefits of exercise.

25. A narrative essay about a trip that changed your perspective.

26. A creative nonfiction essay about your first job .

27. A personal essay about your experience with discrimination .

28. A fictional story about a post-apocalyptic world.

29. A character study of a famous musician or athlete.

30. A descriptive essay about a favorite childhood memory.

It is important to choose a topic that is both interesting and manageable. Consider your interests and passions, as well as the audience you are writing for. Remember that a well-chosen topic can make your writing more engaging and effective, while also making the writing process more enjoyable and fulfilling.

Tips for Making Your Creative Writing Essay Interesting

– Using descriptive language and sensory details

– Incorporating conflict and tension into the story

– Developing complex and dynamic characters

– Using humor, irony, or suspense to engage the reader

To make your creative writing essay interesting and engaging, consider the following tips:

1. Use descriptive language and sensory details: Creating a vivid world for the reader to imagine can enhance the reading experience and make your writing more immersive.

2. Incorporate conflict and tension into the story: Conflict drives the narrative forward and creates tension that keeps the reader engaged.

3. Develop complex and dynamic characters: Characters with unique personalities, motivations, and flaws can make your story more relatable and interesting.

4. Use humor, irony, or suspense to engage the reader: Adding a touch of humor, irony, or suspense can make your writing more engaging and keep the reader hooked.

By using these techniques, you can make your creative writing essay more interesting and memorable for your readers.

Revision and Editing Tips for Creative Writing Essays

Revision and editing are important steps in the writing process. Here are some tips for revising and editing your creative writing essay:

1. Take a break: Step away from your writing for a few hours or days to gain a fresh perspective on your work .

2. Read your work out loud: This can help you catch errors and awkward phrasing that may not be immediately apparent when reading silently.

3. Get feedback from others: Share your work with others and ask for constructive criticism and feedback.

4. Look for common mistakes: Pay attention to common mistakes such as grammar and spelling errors, repetition, and inconsistencies.

5.Focus on clarity and conciseness: Ensure that your writing is clear and concise, and that your ideas are presented in a logical and organized manner.

6. Make sure your characters are consistent: Ensure that your characters’ actions, motivations, and personalities are consistent throughout the story.

7. Cut unnecessary words and phrases: Eliminate unnecessary words and phrases to tighten your writing and make it more impactful.

8. Check for pacing: Ensure that your story is paced well and that it moves at a pace that keeps the reader engaged.

9. Pay attention to the ending: Ensure that your ending is satisfying and that it ties up loose ends in a way that leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

By revising and editing your creative writing essay, you can improve the overall quality of your work and ensure that it is polished and error-free.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. what is a creative writing essay.

A creative writing essay is a type of essay that allows writers to express their creativity and imagination. It can take many forms, including personal essays , short stories, poetry, and more.

2. What are the elements of a creative writing essay?

The elements of a creative writing essay include a strong plot and narrative structure, compelling and relatable characters, descriptive language and sensory details, effective use of dialogue and literary devices, and a satisfying ending.

3. How do I make my creative writing essay interesting?

You can make your creative writing essay interesting by using descriptive language and sensory details, incorporating conflict and tension into the story, developing complex and dynamic characters, and using humor, irony, or suspense to engage the reader.

4. What is the best way to start a creative writing essay?

You can start a creative writing essay with a provocative statement, a surprising fact, or a rhetorical question to pique the reader’s interest. Alternatively, you can create a vivid image or use descriptive language to set the scene and draw the reader into the story.

5. How can I revise and edit my creative writing essay effectively?

To revise and edit your creative writing essay effectively, take a break, read your work out loud, get feedback from others, look for common mistakes, focus on clarity and conciseness, ensure consistency in character development, cut unnecessary words and phrases, check for pacing, and pay attention to the ending.

In conclusion, a creative writing essay is a powerful way to express your creativity and imagination. By incorporating the elements of a strong plot and narrative structure, compelling characters, descriptive language and sensory details, effective use of dialogue and literary devices, and a satisfying ending, you can create a memorable and impactful piece of writing. To make your essay interesting , consider using descriptive language, incorporating conflict and tension, developing complex characters, and using humor, irony, or suspense. When revising and editing your essay, take a break, read your work out loud, get feedback, and pay attention to common mistakes.

We encourage you to start your own creative writing essay and explore the many possibilities that this type of writing offers. Remember to choose a topic that is both interesting and manageable, and to let your creativity and imagination shine through in your writing. With these tips and techniques in mind, you can create a powerful and memorable creative writing essay that engages and inspires your readers.

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How to Write a Creative Essay | 07 Techniques, Types & features

A creative essay is a form of writing that blends imagination with storytelling, allowing writers to express themselves in a unique and artistic way. How to Write a Creative Essay is a common question in literature;

Table of Contents

How to Write a Creative Essay

Understanding the essay prompt and coming up with ideas are the first steps in writing a creative essay. To keep focused and arrange your thoughts, create an outline for your essay.

Throughout the writing process, stay true to your own voice and style, and carefully edit your essay for impact and clarity.

Types of Creative Essays Source

1. personal essay.

An autobiographical piece that delves into a specific experience or subject from the writer’s life is called a personal essay. It frequently considers one’s own emotions, ideas, and revelations.

Personal essays can address a variety of topics, such as relationships or particular occurrences, as well as personal development and reflection.

By sharing their own viewpoints and experiences, writers can establish a personal connection with readers through this kind of essay writing.

A memoir is a type of autobiographical writing that concentrates on a particular time or event in the writer’s life, much like a personal essay. Memoirs, on the other hand, are usually more organized and concentrated, frequently according to a timeline.

Memoirs can give readers more in-depth understanding of the author’s life and experiences while also crafting a gripping story that is both personal and reflective.

3. Descriptive Essay

Write a descriptive and creative essay involves using vivid language and sensory elements to paint a vivid picture of a subject, subject matter, or place. The goal of descriptive essays is to create vivid imagery in the reader’s head so they can easily picture the topic of the essay.

In creative writing, this kind of essay is frequently employed to provide the reader a deep and engaging experience.

4. Narrative Essay

A narrative essay narrates a tale, frequently from the author’s perspective. Typically, narrative essays have a beginning, middle, and end and can be either fictional or based on actual events.

These essays have the ability to captivate readers with strong characters, surprising turns of events, and intense drama.

07 Best Techniques To Write A Creative Essay

1. start with a strong introduction.

Immediately capture the interest of your audience with a compelling introduction. A compelling question, a fascinating fact, or an engaging description might pique their interest and encourage them to read on.

If you’re writing an essay about a personal experience, for instance, you may begin with a dramatic passage that establishes the tone for the entire piece.

2. Use Vivid Imagery

Use vivid imagery to help your words paint a picture. Write scenes, characters, and emotions in a way that makes them easy for readers to picture. This will make your essay more interesting and lively.

For example, you could say, “It was a sunny day,” but instead you could describe the warmth of the sun on your skin, the way it was streaming through the foliage, and the sound of birds chirping.

3. Show, Don’t Tell

Use vivid language and specific examples to illustrate what is occurring to your readers rather than just telling them what is happening. Your writing will become more captivating and lively as a result.

As an alternative to stating “she was sad,” you may characterize her slouched shoulders, moist eyes, and tremulous voice.

4. Develop Interesting Characters

Creating compelling and likable characters is crucial for both fiction and non-fiction writing. Make sure your characters propel the story along by giving them nuance and complexity.

You can accomplish this by giving a realistic and approachable description of their goals, conflicts, and motives.

5. Experiment with Structure

Don’t be scared to experiment with your essay’s structure. You can make your writing more interesting and complex by utilizing flashbacks, non-linear storylines, or various points of view.

To illustrate how it all began, you could, for instance, begin with a scenario from the middle of the narrative and then go back to the beginning.

6. Use Dialogue

Your writing will seem more authentic and your characters will come to life through dialogue. Make sure it progresses the story or reveals something significant about the characters when using it sparingly. Dialogue is another tool for evoking feelings and creating conflict between characters.

7. Revise and Edit

After writing your essay, give it a thorough editing and revision. Make sure your writing is clear and succinct, and proofread it for grammar and spelling mistakes.

This will guarantee that your essay is well-written and polished. You can also ask a friend or member of your family to read your essay and offer suggestions for improvement.

Features Of Creative Essays

Writers can express their creativity and artistic flare through creative essays. These pieces strive to enthrall readers with distinctive storytelling and emotional depth, going beyond simple facts and data. Let’s examine the salient characteristics of creative essays:

1. Creativity

Creative writings serve as a creative outlet. It is recommended of writers to think creatively and to use original concepts and words to create a gripping story.

Creativity is the key to a great creative essay, whether it is rethinking a commonplace event or delving into a magical realm.

2. Emotional Impact

The capacity of a creative essay to arouse readers’ emotions is one of its distinguishing features. Writers have the ability to evoke strong feelings in their readers by using evocative language and poignant narratives.

Any emotion—happy, sad, fearful, nostalgic—can be evoked in readers by a well-written creative essay.

3. Unique Voice

Every writer has a distinct voice, and creative essays provide them a chance to show it out. Your work has a unique personality and style that come from your voice, which makes it stand out from other writing.

Your distinct writing style gives your creative essay depth and authenticity, whether you’re writing with wit, humor, or poignancy.

How Can You Write A Creative Essay Like A Pro

11 Creative Essay Topics

Advice Before Writing Creative Essay

To keep on track, it’s a good idea to fully understand the essay prompt before starting on your creative essay. Take some time to come up with several topics and ideas for your essay to make it stand out.

To properly arrange and structure your essay, create an outline of your ideas. To make your writing authentic, be true to your own voice and style. Lastly, carefully proofread and rewrite your essay to ensure its impact and clarity.

To sum up, the first steps in creating a creative essay are drawing the reader in with an attention-grabbing introduction and adhering to a flexible structure. Writing that is captivating and powerful can be achieved by adhering to your own voice and style.

Start a creative writing essay by grabbing attention with a strong opening, like a vivid description or an intriguing question.

The format of a creative essay can vary but typically includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Begin writing creative writing by brainstorming ideas, outlining your essay, and staying true to your unique voice and style.

A good creative writing essay is characterized by engaging storytelling, vivid imagery, and a strong emotional impact on the reader.

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How to Write a Creative Essay: Useful Tips and Examples

Samuel Gorbold

Essay creative writing is not always seen as fun by most students, but the realm of creative essays can offer an enjoyable twist. The inherent freedom in choosing a topic and expressing your thoughts makes this type of paper a creative playground. Engaging in composing a creative essay provides an opportunity to flex your creative muscles. Yet, if you're new to crafting compositions, it can pose a challenge. This article guides you through the steps to write an impressive creative essay, helping you navigate the process seamlessly. In a hurry? Our writing service is there for you 24/7, with guidance and practical help.

What Is a Creative Essay

A creative essay is a form of writing that goes beyond traditional academic structures, allowing the author to express themselves more imaginatively and artistically. Unlike formal essays, creative ones emphasize storytelling, personal reflection, and the exploration of emotions. They often incorporate literary elements such as vivid descriptions, dialogue, and poetic language to engage readers on a more emotional and sensory level. Follow our creative essay tips to experiment with style and structure, offering a unique platform to convey ideas, experiences, or perspectives in a captivating and inventive way.

To answer the question what does creative writing mean, it’s necessary to point out that it departs from traditional academic writing, offering a canvas for artistic expression and storytelling. It diverges from the rigid structure of formal writings, providing a platform for writers to infuse their work with imagination and emotion. In this genre, literary elements such as vivid descriptions and poetic language take center stage, fostering a more engaging and personal connection with the reader.

Unlike a poem analysis essay , this form of writing prioritizes narrative and self-expression, allowing authors to delve into their experiences and perspectives uniquely. It's a departure from the conventional rules, encouraging experimentation with style and structure. Creative essays offer a distinct avenue for individuals to convey ideas and emotions, weaving a tapestry that captivates and resonates with readers on a deeper, more sensory level.

Creative Writing Essay Outline Explained From A to Z

Moving on, let's delve into how to write a creative writing essay from s structural perspective. Despite the focus on creativity and imagination, a robust structure remains essential. Consider your favorite novel – does it not follow a well-defined beginning, middle, and end? So does your article. Before diving in, invest some time crafting a solid plan for your creative writing essay.

Creative Essay Introduction

In creative essay writing, the introduction demands setting the scene effectively. Begin with a concise portrayal of the surroundings, the time of day, and the historical context of the present scenario. This initial backdrop holds significant weight, shaping the atmosphere and trajectory of the entire storyline. Ensure a vivid depiction, employing explicit descriptions, poetic devices, analogies, and symbols to alter the text's tone promptly.

Creative Essay Body

The body sections serve as the engine to propel the storyline and convey the intended message. Yet, they can also be leveraged to introduce shifts in motion and emotion. For example, as creative writers, injecting conflict right away can be a powerful move if the plot unfolds slowly. This unexpected twist startles the reader, fundamentally altering the narrative's tone and pace. Additionally, orchestrating a fabricated conflict can keep the audience on edge, adding an extra layer of intrigue.

Creative Essay Conclusion

Typically, creative writers conclude the narrative towards the end. Introduce a conflict and then provide its resolution to tie up the discourse neatly. While the conclusion often doesn't lead to the story's climax, skilled writers frequently deploy cliffhangers. By employing these writing techniques suggested by our write my college essay experts, the reader is left in suspense, eagerly anticipating the fate of the characters without a premature revelation.

Creative Writing Tips

Every student possesses a distinct mindset, individual way of thinking, and unique ideas. However, considering the academic nature of creative writing essays, it is essential to incorporate characteristics commonly expected in such works, such as:

• Select a topic that sparks your interest or explores unique perspectives. A captivating subject sets the stage for an engaging paper.
• Begin with a vivid and attention-grabbing introduction. Use descriptive language, anecdotes, or thought-provoking questions to draw in your readers from the start.
• Clearly articulate the main idea or theme of your essay in a concise thesis statement. This provides a roadmap for your readers and keeps your writing focused.
• Use descriptive language to create a sensory experience for your readers. Appeal to sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell to enhance the imagery.
• Play with the structure of your content. Consider nonlinear narratives, flashbacks, or unconventional timelines to add an element of surprise and creativity.
• If applicable, develop well-rounded and relatable characters. Provide details that breathe life into your characters and make them memorable to the reader.
• Establish a vivid and immersive setting for your narrative. The environment should contribute to the overall mood and tone.
• Blend dialogue and narration effectively. Dialogue adds authenticity and allows characters to express themselves, while narration provides context and insight.
• Revisit your essay for revisions. Pay attention to the flow, coherence, and pacing. Edit for clarity and refine your language to ensure every word serves a purpose.
• Share your creative writing article with others and welcome constructive feedback. Fresh perspectives can help you identify areas for improvement and refine your storytelling.
• Maintain an authentic voice throughout your essay. Let your unique style and perspective shine through, creating a genuine connection with your audience.
• Craft a memorable conclusion that leaves a lasting impression. Summarize key points, evoke emotions, or pose thought-provoking questions to resonate with your readers.

Types of Creative Writing Essays

A creative writing essay may come in various forms, each offering a unique approach to storytelling and self-expression. Some common types include:

• Reflects the author's personal experiences, emotions, and insights, often weaving in anecdotes and reflections.

Descriptive 

• Focuses on creating a vivid and sensory-rich portrayal of a scene, person, or event through detailed descriptions.
• Tells a compelling story with a clear plot, characters, and often a central theme or message.

Reflective 

• Encourages introspection and thoughtful examination of personal experiences, revealing personal growth and lessons learned.

Expository 

• Explores and explains a particular topic, idea, or concept creatively and engagingly.

Persuasive 

• Utilizes creative elements to persuade the reader to adopt a particular viewpoint or take a specific action.

Imaginative 

• These creative writing papers allow for the free expression of imagination, often incorporating elements of fantasy, surrealism, or speculative fiction.

Literary Analysis

• Learning how to write a creative writing essay, analyze and interpret a piece of literature, and incorporate creativity to explore deeper meanings and connections.
• Blends personal experiences with travel narratives, offering insights into different cultures, places, and adventures.
• Focuses on creating a detailed and engaging portrait of a person, exploring their character, experiences, and impact on others.

Experimental 

• Pushes the boundaries of traditional essay structures, experimenting with form, style, and narrative techniques.
• Combines elements from different essay types, allowing for a flexible and creative approach to storytelling.

As you can see, there are many types of creative compositions, so we recommend that you study how to write an academic essay with the help of our extensive guide.

How to Start a Creative Writing Essay

Starting a creative writing essay involves capturing the reader's attention and setting the tone for the narrative. Here are some effective ways to begin:

• Pose a thought-provoking question that intrigues the reader and encourages them to contemplate the topic.
• Begin with a short anecdote or a brief storytelling snippet that introduces the central theme or idea of your essay.
• Paint a vivid picture of the setting using descriptive language, setting the stage for the events or emotions to unfold.
• Open with a compelling dialogue that sparks interest or introduces key characters, immediately engaging the reader in the conversation.
• Incorporate a relevant quotation or epigraph that sets the mood or provides insight into the essay's theme.
• Begin with a bold or intriguing statement that captivates the reader's attention, encouraging them to delve further into your essay.
• Present a contradiction or unexpected scenario that creates a sense of curiosity and compels the reader to explore the resolution.
• Employ a striking metaphor or simile that immediately draws connections and conveys the essence of your creative essay.
• Start by directly addressing the reader, creating a sense of intimacy and involvement right from the beginning.
• Establish the mood or atmosphere of your essay by describing the emotions, sounds, or surroundings relevant to the narrative.
• Present a dilemma or conflict that hints at the central tension of your essay, enticing the reader to discover the resolution.
• Start in the middle of the action, dropping the reader into a pivotal moment that sparks curiosity about what happened before and what will unfold.

Choose an approach to how to write a creative essay that aligns with your tone and theme, ensuring a captivating and memorable introduction.

Creative Essay Formats

Working on a creative writing essay offers a canvas for writers to express themselves in various formats, each contributing a unique flavor to the storytelling. One prevalent format is personal writing, where writers delve into their own experiences, emotions, and reflections, creating a deeply personal narrative that resonates with readers. Through anecdotes, insights, and introspection, personal essays provide a window into the author's inner world, fostering a connection through shared vulnerabilities and authentic storytelling.

Another captivating format is the narrative, which unfolds like a traditional story with characters, a plot, and a clear arc. Writers craft a compelling narrative, often with a central theme or message, engaging readers in a journey of discovery. Through vivid descriptions and well-developed characters, narrative articles allow for the exploration of universal truths within the context of a captivating storyline, leaving a lasting impression on the audience.

For those who seek to blend fact and fiction, the imaginative format opens the door to vivid exploration. This format allows writers to unleash their imagination, incorporating elements of fantasy, surrealism, or speculative fiction. By bending reality and weaving imaginative threads into the narrative, writers can transport readers to otherworldly realms or offer fresh perspectives on familiar themes. The imaginative essay format invites readers to embrace the unexpected, challenging conventional boundaries and stimulating creativity in both the writer and the audience. Check out our poetry analysis essay guide to learn more about the freedom of creativity learners can adopt while working on assignments. 

Creative Essay Topics and Ideas

As you become familiar with creative writing tips, we’d like to share several amazing topic examples that might help you get out of writer’s block:

• The enchanted garden tells a tale of blooms and whispers.
• Lost in time, a journey through historical echoes unfolds.
• Whispering winds unravel the secrets of nature.
• The silent symphony explores the soul of music.
• Portraits of the invisible capture the essence of emotions.
• Beyond the horizon is a cosmic adventure in stardust.
• Can dreams shape reality? An exploration of the power of imagination.
• The forgotten key unlocks doors to the past.
• Ripples in the void, an exploration of cosmic mysteries.
• Echoes of eternity are stories written in the stars.
• In the shadow of giants, unveils the unsung heroes.
• Can words paint pictures? An exploration of the artistry of literary expression.
• Whispers of the deep explore the ocean's hidden stories.
• Threads of time weave lives through generations.
• Do colors hold emotions? A journey of painting the canvas of feelings.
• The quantum quandary navigates the world of subatomic particles.
• Reflections in a mirror unmask the layers of identity.
• The art of silence crafts narratives without words.
• The ethereal dance explores movement beyond the visible.
• Can shadows speak? Unveiling stories cast in darkness.

Examples of Creative Writing Essays

We've added a couple of brief creative writing essays examples for your reference and inspiration.

Creative Writing Example 1: Admission Essay

Creative writing example 2: narrative essay.

What Are the Types of Creative Writing Essays?

What is a creative writing essay, how to start a creative writing essay, what are some creative writing tips.

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How to Write a Creative Essay: Your Fresh Guide

What Is a Creative Essay

Creative essay is a form of writing that combines elements of fiction, personal experience, and imagination.

Do you ever want to let your imagination loose in your school essays? Creative writing lets you do just that. It allows you to invent characters, places, and stories that might not exist in real life. This type of writing encourages you to play with words, structure, and style to stir emotions, provoke thoughts, or simply entertain your readers.

Unlike more formal writing like journalism or academic essays, creative writing is all about expressing yourself artistically. It gives you the freedom to showcase your personality through characters, stories, and plots that you create.

In this guide, our college essay writer will walk you through everything you need to know, from picking a great topic to putting your ideas down on paper. You'll find examples of creative essays, a template to help you organize your thoughts, and tips on how to make your writing more vivid and impactful.

How to Write a Creative Essay in 6 Steps

Let's go through the key steps for writing a creative essay. By breaking down the process into manageable parts, you'll find it more straightforward to develop engaging ideas and structure your essay effectively.

Meanwhile, check out our special article on how to write in cursive .

Write Freely

When you start writing, whether it's for essays or stories, it's best to sit down and jot down your first thoughts. Freewriting is a common technique among writers. It helps you start thinking and brainstorming ideas.

Freewriting does two main things:

• It keeps your ideas flowing so you don't forget any good ones.
• It improves your ability to write continuously for longer periods.

For essays, you can begin by writing the topic in the center of a page and then creating a mind map with any relevant ideas that come to mind. This can include different aspects of the topic you want to cover and examples or quotes you've come across.

Remember, this brainstorming session shouldn't take too long. Set a timer for about ten minutes, play your favorite music, and let your ideas flow naturally. This initial step is all about getting your thoughts out there without overthinking it.

Tell the Story in Three Parts

In storytelling, we often use a three-part structure: Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution. This approach is widely used in writing, movies, and TV shows. Unlike the acts in a play, these parts flow into each other seamlessly.

• Setup - Introduces the characters, their relationships, and the world they live in. Early on, there's usually an event called an 'inciting incident' (often around 19 minutes into a film) that sets the story in motion. The main character faces challenges and makes decisions that shape the rest of the narrative.
• Confrontation - The central problem emerges from the inciting incident, and the main character strives to resolve it. They encounter obstacles that test their abilities and resolve. For instance, in a detective story, this phase involves the detective uncovering clues and facing setbacks before reaching a breakthrough.
• Resolution - The story reaches its peak as the main conflict is confronted and resolved. Loose ends are tied up, and the characters' journeys conclude, leaving a sense of closure.

This structure helps writers build engaging narratives that keep audiences invested in the characters' journeys from start to finish.

Start with a Hook

In creative writing, it's often recommended to start with an exciting beginning. One good way is to begin with a 'conversation,' jumping straight into a lively talk to grab the reader's interest right away. For example, in a spy thriller, instead of easing into the story, the writer might open with agents arguing about a secret mission, setting the stage for suspense and excitement. The story could then unfold with more dialogue revealing the characters' motives and actions.

This method also works in essays, especially for certain topics. For instance, if you were writing about the ethical issues of cloning, rather than starting with a slow introduction to different viewpoints, you could begin with a conversation between scientists debating the consequences of cloning animals. Showing different opinions and ethical dilemmas through dialogue could engage readers and lead them into the broader discussion of bioethics and scientific advancements. This approach may not follow the usual essay structure, but it can make your writing more engaging and thought-provoking.

Add Rich Details

To keep your reader engaged, add vivid details about settings and locations, much like creative writers do. Essays can become dull if they only focus on academic concepts, but you can make them more captivating by including descriptive details.

While it can be challenging in essays with strict word limits or those focused on scientific topics, you can certainly incorporate relevant details in subjects like humanities, literature, theater, or history. For example, when analyzing a novel by Jane Austen, you might explore how societal expectations of the time shaped her portrayal of female characters.

By including these extra details and snippets of information, you not only maintain reader interest but also demonstrate your depth of understanding and independent study. This approach can impress your reader and potentially enhance your academic performance.

End Clearly

In creative writing, ambiguity can spark debate, but in essays, clarity is key. Unlike creative writing, in which open endings can be intriguing, essays require a clear conclusion.

Always ensure your essay concludes definitively. This shows your examiner what you've learned and your final answer to the essay question. Unlike creative writing, your goal is to demonstrate understanding and reach a clear conclusion to earn marks.

Make sure your conclusion is straightforward and easy to locate. With many essays to assess, clarity helps your teacher quickly identify your final thoughts. Avoid ambiguity or vague language, which can frustrate readers, including your examiner.

Revise and Improve

Most writers don't nail it on the first try. Editing is crucial, especially when trimming down your word count. It can be tough to cut out sections you've crafted carefully.

After completing your first draft, read through it critically. Consider the order of your points and ensure everything makes sense. With modern technology, editing is easier—you can rearrange sections by copying and pasting and refining your wording for smooth transitions. Once you've made these edits, give your essay a final read-through to polish the wording. Don't overlook proofreading to catch any spelling or grammar mistakes.

Outline for Creative Writing Essay

Here is an outline that will help you structure your creative writing essay, whether it's a poem, a personal essay, a short story, or a speech.

Types of Creative Essays 

Creative writing comes in many forms, each a great way to tell stories and express yourself. Here are 5 main types:

• Poetry uses short, powerful words to describe feelings, thoughts, and experiences. It can rhyme and have a beat or be more free-flowing. Poets play with language to create strong emotions and ideas, capturing moments in special ways.
• Personal essays mix memories, reflections, and stories to explore a person's experiences and what they learned. Unlike school essays, they focus on the writer's unique voice, using stories and thoughts to tell a narrative. They can be about almost anything, giving readers a glimpse into the writer's mind and feelings with the goal of connecting through shared experiences.
• Short stories can be very short or complete stories, but they have a word limit. This challenges writers to create interesting characters, plots, and settings using concise storytelling. Short stories come in all sorts of genres, like realistic fiction or fantasy, and aim to build suspense and give a satisfying ending in a short space.
• Novels are longer fictional works with complex characters, plots, and settings. They can be literary fiction, science fiction, romance, mysteries, or anything else, offering in-depth stories that unfold over many chapters. Writing novels requires planning and a strong understanding of storytelling to keep readers engaged with vivid worlds and compelling narratives.
• Speeches are written to be spoken aloud, with the goal of informing, inspiring, persuading, or entertaining listeners. They can be formal addresses or informal talks and use special writing techniques along with storytelling elements. Speechwriting is about crafting messages that resonate with listeners' emotions and minds, using stories and anecdotes to capture their attention and hold their interest.

20 Creative Essay Topics 

Before putting yourself into creative essay writing, you should pick among the creative writing essay topics that you will be talking about. Here, our paper writer prepared some fresh ideas to make your choice easier:

• Write about a time you overcame a challenge. What did you learn from the experience?
• Imagine you can talk to animals. What would you ask your pet?
• Describe a place that brings back special memories. What makes it so special?
• Create a story about a forgotten object. Where did it come from? Who used it?
• Write a letter to your future self. What are your hopes and dreams?
• If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Why?
• Imagine a world without technology. How would your life be different?
• What is the most important lesson you've learned in life so far?
• Describe a dream you'll never forget. What do you think it means?
• Write a story about a character who is very different from you.
• What historical figure do you find most interesting? Why?
• Create a dialogue between two unlikely characters.
• Imagine you could travel anywhere in the universe. Where would you go? Why?
• Write a story about a robot who wants to be human.
• What does friendship mean to you?
• Describe a work of art that you find moving. Why does it affect you?
• What is your favorite thing about nature? Why?
• Imagine you are invisible for a day. What would you do?
• Write a story about a creature from myth or legend.
• What do you think the future holds for humanity?

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Example of a Creative Essay

If you liked these samples, you can buy essays online from us. Our authors will write them flawlessly and deliver them within the specified timeframe. Additionally, you can find helpful information on a book review format in our dedicated article.

Wrapping Up

We hope you now understand what a creative essay is and how to write one. Some people find writing creative essays easier than others. By applying the tips mentioned above, you should be well-equipped to create work that you're proud of.

If you need extra guidance, consider working with our expert coursework writers . They have developed numerous academic essays with professionalism. Place an order today and experience our dedication firsthand!

Are You Short on Creative Writing Topics?

Whether you need a compelling personal statement, a thought-provoking argumentative essay, or a captivating narrative, we've got you covered.

If you feel like some questions were left unanswered, don't you feel disappointed just yet! Our dissertation writers for hire compiled the most frequently asked question on creative essay writing, so take a look for additional information:

What Are the 7 Types of Creative Writing?

What are the 5 c's of creative writing, is creative writing a skill.

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• Added new examples, topics and FAQs
• Added new writing steps and an outline
• 7 Techniques from Creative Writing You Can Use to Improve Your Essays. (2014, June 21). Oxford Royale Academy. https://www.oxford-royale.com/articles/techniques-creative-writing-improve-essays/  
• (2023). Oxfordsummercourses.com. https://oxfordsummercourses.com/articles/creative-writing-techniques-to-improve-your-essays/  

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• 7 Techniques from Creative Writing You Can Use to Improve Your Essays

You wouldn’t have thought that essays have much in common with creative writing.

Creative writing, by definition, involves being ‘creative’: making things up, letting your imagination run wild. Essays are about being factual and objective, communicating ideas and arguments in the clearest way possible and attempting to enhance the reader’s knowledge, rather than their imagination. But while the literary devices and colourful tales we associate with creative writing are indeed out of place in an essay, these two very different kinds of writing actually have a few similarities. Above all, they’re both meant to be read by other people, and that means that they need to sustain the reader’s interest. So, are there any writing techniques you can borrow from creative writing to help make your essays more interesting and original? Yes there are, and in this article, we’re going to show you how. Before we start, if you’re interested in attending a summer school to help develop these skills, click the link.

1. Think about your reader

With creative writing, as with any kind of writing, your reader is your most important consideration. You need to know and understand whom you’re writing for if you’re to do a good job of keeping them interested. Let’s think for a moment about the kind of person you’re writing for when you’re writing an essay and what you need to do to write specifically for them:

• Teachers or university lecturers – they’re going to be marking your essay, so it needs to answer the question effectively.
• They’ve set the question and they probably have a pretty good idea of how you’re going to answer it – so be original and unpredictable; catch them by surprise with an unusual approach or structure.
• They’re going to be reading many other responses to the same question – so they may well be bored by the time they get to yours. Keep them interested!
• They’re probably going to be pressed for time – so they won’t have time to reread badly written passages to try to understand what you’re getting at. Keep your writing easy to read, succinct and to the point.

What all these points boil down to is the importance of keeping your reader interested in what you have to say. Since creative writing is all about holding the reader’s interest, there must be some lessons to be learned from it and techniques that can be applied within the more limited style constraints of the academic essay. We’ll now turn to what these are.

2. Three-act structure

The three-act structure is a writing device used extensively in modern writing, including for film and television dramas. These ‘acts’ aren’t as distinct as acts in a play, as one follows seamlessly on from another and the audience wouldn’t consciously realise that one act had ended and another began. The structure refers to a plotline that looks something like this:

• Set-up – establishes the characters, how they relate to each other, and the world they inhabit. Within this first ‘act’, a dramatic occurrence called an ‘inciting incident’ takes place (typically around 19 minutes into a film) involving the principal character. They try to deal with it, but this results in another dramatic occurrence called a ‘turning point’. This sets the scene for the rest of the story.
• Confrontation – the turning point in the previous ‘act’ becomes the central problem, which the main character attempts to resolve – usually with plenty of adversity thrown their way that hampers their efforts. In a murder mystery, for example, this act would involve the detective trying to solve the murder. The central character – with the help of supporting characters – undergoes a journey and develops their knowledge, skills or character to a sufficient degree to be able to overcome the problem.
• Resolution – the climax of the story, in which the drama reaches a peak, the problem is overcome, and loose ends are tied up.

This structure sounds all very well for made-up stories, but what has it got to do with essay-writing? The key similarities here are:

• The central argument of your essay is the equivalent of the main character.
• The essay equivalent of the set-up and resolution are the introduction and conclusion.
• The inciting incident in an essay encourages you to get to the point early on in the essay.
• The equivalent of character development in the second act is developing your argument.
• The equivalent of the supporting characters is the evidence you refer to in your essay.

So, applying the three-act structure to an essay gives you something like this:

• Set-up – the introduction. This establishes what you’re talking about, setting the scene. The ‘inciting incident’ could be the introduction of evidence that contradicts a common theory, or the highlighting of a central disagreement in how something is interpreted.
• Confrontation – you discuss the different problems surrounding the topic you’re writing about. You develop the argument using various bits of evidence, moving towards an overall conclusion.
• Resolution – the conclusion. You summarise and resolve the argument with your own opinion, by coming down on one side or the other, having weighed up the evidence you’ve discussed. You could perhaps tie up loose ends by offering an alternative explanation for evidence that doesn’t sit with your conclusion.

Using this structure keeps you focused on the central point, and stops you from waffling, because everything you write is working towards resolving your argument. The use of the inciting incident in the first ‘act’ encourages you to get to the point early on in your essay, thereby keeping the reader interested. The principles of good plot-writing are centred around the connection between different events that show cause and effect, and this central tenet of the three-act structure has obvious parallels with the way in which essays work through presenting evidence in support of arguments.

3. An attention-grabbing opening

An oft-spouted piece of advice in creative writing is to use an attention-grabbing opening. One way of doing this is to start with a ‘flashback’, which could disrupt the chronology of events by transporting the reader directly back to the midst of the action, so that the story begins with maximum excitement. In a murder mystery, for instance, the writer might skip a slow build-up and instead use the murder itself to form the opening of the novel, with the rest of the story charting the efforts of the detective to uncover the perpetrator and perhaps telling the events prior to the murder in a series of flashbacks. The same principle can be applied to essays, though it’s easier to use in some subjects than others. To take an example, let’s say you were writing about how the First World War started. Rather than building up slowly with the various factors, an attention-grabbing opening could (briefly) describe the drama of the Battle of the Somme, perhaps citing some statistics about the number of men involved and killed, and quoting some war poetry about the horrors faced by the soldiers on the Front Line. Then, to introduce the purpose of the essay and launch into your argument about what started the war, a phrase such as, “It seems hard to imagine that all this began with…”. Alternatively, a rhetorical question: “But how did these tens of thousands of soldiers end up in the mud and horror of trench warfare? The story begins several years earlier, with…” It may not be the standard way of writing an essay, but you’ll certainly score points for originality and perhaps ruffle a few feathers.

4. Extended metaphors

Creative writing often makes use of extended metaphors. For example, when Shakespeare wrote the passage in Romeo and Juliet referring to “It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!” he was using an extended metaphor. With this in mind, it’s time to revisit a point we made in a previous article about writing more original essays , in which we argued that, rather than battling on with trying to explain a complex concept in a straightforward way, it might be easier to use an analogy to convey the meaning by drawing comparisons, which people find easier to understand. A metaphor is a kind of analogy, so the similarities with creative writing are strong here. In our previous article we used the example of radioactive decay. An analogy for this is the pressure with which water escapes from a hole in a bucket. It does so exponentially, just as radioactive substances decay exponentially. In both instances, the rate of a consumptive process depends on how much there is left of whatever is being depleted, which results in an exponential rate of decay. This concept is so much easier to explain using the analogy of water flowing from a hole in a bucket, as you give your reader something familiar to visualise in order to explain a concept with which they are unfamiliar.

5. Interesting details about setting and location

Another way of keeping your reader interested is to bring your essay to life with details about setting and location, just as creative writers do. Essays can become quite dry if you focus solely on the academic problems, but you can make them more interesting by peppering them with details. This may not work quite so well for a scientific essay, but it’s certainly relevant for some humanities subjects, in particular English literature, history and archaeology. For example, an essay about the Roman emperor Augustus could mention that he lived a famously modest lifestyle, quoting details from Roman writers and archaeological evidence that support this: Suetonius mentions his “low bed” (interesting because of what it says about accepted standards of Roman beds!) and coarse bread and cheese diet, and the relatively small and non-lavish remains of his house on the Palatine Hill in Rome back up the idea of his having lived a modest life. Incidental details like these can actually prove to be more significant than you initially realise, and you can use them to build your argument; in the case of Augustus, for example, his modest lifestyle is particularly important when seen in the context of Rome’s troubled history with kings. As he gradually acquired more power and became Rome’s first emperor, he had to avoid coming across as being too ‘regal’, and the little details we know about his way of life are significant in light of this. So, not only have you brought your essay to life, but you’ve raised an interesting point, too.

Few writers get it right first time. Once you’ve written a first draft, read through it and think about whether the order of your points is optimal and whether what you’ve written actually makes sense. It’s easy in the age of computers to chop and change – you can simply copy and paste part of your essay into another part where it might fit better, and then make minor changes to your wording so that it flows. After you’ve finished editing, have a final read through and check that you’re happy with the wording. Don’t forget to proofread to ensure that your spelling and grammar is impeccable!

7. And finally… record your ideas

Creative writers swear by having a notebook with them at all times, ready to jot down any ideas that suddenly spring to mind. You can adopt the same principle for your essay-writing, because you never know when the inspiration might strike. Have a think about your essay topic when you’re out and about; you’d be surprised what occurs to you when you’re away from your normal place of study. As you can see, there are more similarities between two apparently unrelated kinds of writing than you might have realised. It is, of course, possible to go too far with the creative writing idea when you’re essay-writing: literary devices aren’t always appropriate, and your essay still needs to retain objectivity and conform to the more formal conventions of academic writing. But there are certainly techniques to be borrowed from creative writing that will help your essays stand out from the crowd and give your teacher or lecturer a welcome break from the monotony of essay-marking.

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Creative Writing Essay Examples

In a way, all essays are creative. But if you have been specifically assigned this writing genre, the point is to go beyond the traditional writing conventions. For college students, the task presupposes short story-making.

Thus, to write a creative essay about yourself, find an event in your life that has a traceable plot and morale. If it is a literary analysis, imagine the protagonists in different circumstances and speculate on how they could change.

This section provides an extensive list of creative writing essay examples for all subjects and tastes. You will definitely find a couple of free texts to enhance your inspiration.

37 Best Creative Writing Essay Examples

Leo tolstoy: “the death of ivan ilyich” adaptation.

• Subjects: Literature World Literature

Women and Family in Chinese History

• Subjects: History Women Studies
• Words: 1403

Culture before the Influence by Technology

• Subjects: Cultural Issues Culture
• Words: 1663

Personal and Social Changes

• Subjects: Ethics Sociology
• Words: 1171

The Tale of Prodigal Daughter

• Subjects: Literature Mythology
• Words: 1082

A Time Capsule from The 1960s

• Subjects: Archeology Sciences
• Words: 1381

Alternative ending of the book about Frederick Douglass

• Subjects: American Literature Literature

London: History of a Business City

• Subjects: History Western Europe

Reorganize the School System in Indianapolis

• Subjects: Education Education Theories
• Words: 2054

Why Was De Bry that Inaccurate?

• Subjects: History United States

What It Means to Be a Leader?

• Subjects: Business Management
• Words: 1073

Socrates: Moral Obligation to Civil Law

• Subjects: Philosophers Philosophy
• Words: 1932

Student Survival Guide to Research

• Subjects: Education Study Courses and Education Programs

Richard Koboyashi: farmer with Cabbages

• Subjects: Art Photography
• Words: 1081

Curtailing Free Speech in Campus is more Costly than it is Beneficial

• Subjects: Government Politics & Government

Back In the World

• Words: 1357

Alcoholism: The Rough Road

• Subjects: Psychology Psychology of Abuse

Restaurant Project in Boise

• Subjects: Business Company Missions

The Concept of Time

• Subjects: Art Paintings

The Sperm and the Egg

• Subjects: Health & Medicine Physiology
• Words: 1337

Horizon Restaurant Experience

• Subjects: Family, Life & Experiences Personal Experiences

Letter by Galileo to a Friend

The fears within: what do you see in the mirror.

• Subjects: Psychological Issues Psychology
• Words: 2395

My father’s black pride

The peculiarities of transition planning.

• Subjects: Education Educational Resources
• Words: 1918

The Plan for a Dream Vacation to Las Vegas, Nevada

• Subjects: Tourism Trips and Tours
• Words: 1837

Third Annual Bay Area Travel and Adventure Show

• Subjects: Entertainment & Media Events

Mythology’s Role in the Ancient Greece – God Poseidon

• Words: 1118

Hate Crimes and Demystification of the Evils Associated With Them

• Subjects: Sociological Issues Sociology

Corporate Event: Ideal Bank Heart Dinner

• Subjects: Business Business Ethics

The Surprises of a Dutch Birthday

• Subjects: Culture Holidays

The Problem with Mr. Gunes

• Subjects: Literature Plays

My life in Western Europe in 600 AD

• Subjects: History Medieval History

The Magic Ring

• Subjects: Art Film Studies

Concepts of Diary Account of the Whiskey Rebellion

A new dawn: the abolishment of slavery in the usa, travelling along the oregon trail.

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How to Write a Creative Essay: Tips, Topics, and Techniques

What is a creative essay, if not the way to express yourself? Crafting such a paper is a task that allows you to communicate your opinion and tell a story. However, even using your imagination to a great extent doesn’t free you from following academic writing rules. Don’t even get us started about other components of papers. With tools like research paper title page generators available, it only proves to be a serious business.

Confused yet?

No need to be! Creativity can be worked into many different types of essays. You just have to know how to write a creative essay deftly, thus:

• paying attention to your reader;
• using an essay structure;
• incorporating details and metaphors;
• don’t be afraid to speak your mind!

Turn to our writers when in doubt or read the rest of the article for more recommendations.

🎨 Types of Creative Essays

🧩 creative essay format, 🖌️ how to write a creative essay, 📜 creative essay topics.

Where analysis ends, creativity begins!

You can include creative expression in an essay or paper you write. Yet, some pieces are designed specifically to allow you to be creative. You can choose a topic that will set your imagination free.

Here are a few types of creative essays you can embrace:

• Narrative Essay :

The narrative essay is much like novel writing. This essay type can be used to discuss either real or imaginary events. The key in this type is that you have to show, not tell. For you to accomplish this, your essay will need a plot, many descriptive details, and well-written prose.

• Admission Essay :

The admission essay is becoming increasingly popular. When it is well-written, it allows you to stand out among thousands of students who are vying for admission to a particular program. The admission essay is a way for you to talk about yourself and why you would make a great addition to a program. Essentially, you are advertising yourself to show that you are the best choice.

• Personal Essay :

The personal essay is similar to the admission essay but less aggressive. This form of essay is used to talk about yourself and your experiences, trying to persuade the reader that a particular event or aspect of your personal life is significant in some way. Consider this form of creative writing essay a self-portrait that you paint with words.

• Descriptive Essay :

You can choose any topic you wish for the descriptive essay. The key is that the central idea should be of interest to or affect the reader. Once you select one, describe it throughout your essay, stating why it is crucial to you.

• Lyric Essay:

This is very much like the descriptive essay, except that it makes greater use of imagery and description.

• Americanism Essay :

The Americanism essay is popular with scholarship committees. This is the “why I am proud to be an American” essay.

• Reflection Essay:

The reflection essay offers you a way to provide feedback on an event or other topic with which you are not happy, or it bothers you in some way.

Victor Valley College and the University of Vermont offer some great advice on writing creative essays. Now let’s look at some techniques that will help you write creatively.

Creative essays usually follow the three-act story structure . It is a classic writing technique commonly used in storytelling, screenwriting, and drama. It divides a story into three parts: the setup , confrontation , and resolution . The three-act story structure allows for the effective development of characters and conflicts, which leads to more compelling writing.

Check out the creative essay format below.

The stage is set in this initial part of the story where the main characters, setting, and central conflict are introduced. Readers are given a glimpse into the story’s world and get to know the characters and their motivations. The setup establishes the foundation for the narrative, laying out the groundwork for the conflicts that will unfold.

Confrontation

Confrontation is where the story’s central conflict develops and the tension rises. Obstacles and complications that arise during that stage are meant to test the characters, pushing them to their limits. The confrontation is filled with rising action as the characters face increasingly difficult challenges.

The story reaches its climax, and the conflicts are brought to a head. The tension built up in the previous stage comes to its peak as the characters confront their challenges head-on. The resolution provides closure to the story, ties up loose ends, and resolves the central conflict.

The Oxford Royale Academy offers useful creative writing tips that can easily be applied to creative nonfiction.

The key is:

Creative writing is not solely about putting words on a page in a way that presents imaginative prose. You need to consider your writing in a certain way and structure it properly if you want to pull off an excellent creative essay.

Here are some tips and techniques for any creative nonfiction writing you do:

• Consider the reader: As with any other form of writing, you must consider the reader above all else. You have to have a deep understanding of who your audience is so you can pique their interest and hold it throughout the paper.
• Start it off right: You need to start your paper off with a bang! That means you have to have an opening to your essay or paper that will grab the attention of whoever reads it. This could be a bold phrase, the description of something that happened, or some profound or persuasive words. Your opening needs to scream, “Keep reading!”
• Use the traditional creative structure: Traditionally, creative essays are divided into three acts: the setup, the confrontation, and the resolution. In the first one, you will introduce the leading players and the situation. The confrontation will allow you to shift into the main issue. The resolution is the climax, during which the issue is resolved.
• Use metaphors: A metaphor is effective in any form of writing. In a creative essay writing, use an analogy to help provide the reader with a clear image. It should make them understand a concept you are explaining at a deeper level.
• Provide details: Details are everything when writing creatively as they tug at the readers’ emotions. Without them, your essay can be stale and boring, providing only one fact. Detail spruces it up and makes it come alive in the readers’ minds.
• Edit, edit, edit: Make sure to edit your work after you have written it. A writer rarely gets it right the first time.
• Think out of the box: Finally, here it comes—the piece of advice that every successful assignment demands. Try to approach the issue from an unusual angle!

The Oxford Royale Academy also has some great information on general essay writing that is sure to help!

Now, let’s take a look at some creative writing topics you might be able to use.

The goal behind any writing assignment that calls for creativity is simple. You have to express your feelings and opinions on a particular topic so that it captivates the reader. These creative papers and essays are not dry and boring the way most of us imagine academic works.

But what should you write about? You need some creative essay ideas. Whether the topic is assigned or you choose it yourself, you’ll have to decide how to approach it. If you pick an issue yourself, the options might be overwhelming.

With that in mind:

Let’s start on a journey to find fun essay topics! You can:

• Choose something you are interested in by making a list of issues or problems that matter to you.
• Narrow down a broader issue.
• Find inspiration from materials and records to which you have access or from your coursework.

There are plenty of topics for narrative essays and other creative writing essays on the Internet. Here are some great ideas for nonfiction writing topics to get your imagination moving:

• Describing thoughts inspired by a picture.
• Are art and nature vital parts of human life?
• Creativity can change the world.
• What is pride?
• The desire to travel lives in every person.
• My visit to Rio de Janeiro .
• Is it a good idea to be a stay-at-home mother?
• Various feelings about cheating .
• Is early marriage a good or a bad thing?
• The importance of the Era of Good Feelings for American history.
• What will your future be in five years?
• Family fitness night is a great way to unite a family.
• Bachata as a music genre.
• How do you understand love ?
• The role of money issues in strong relationships.
• What person can be a true friend?
• The definition of jealousy .
• Is creativity a panacea from depression?
• Emotional intelligence is crucial for healthy relationships.
• Postmodernist and experimental dance forms.
• How I trained my dog at home.
• Poetry as a way to express emotions .
• What makes a strong marriage?
• Photography as a professional art and creative hobby.
• Problems in the neighborhood and how to deal them.
• Why do Carolina dogs make great pets?
• Feeling of joy and its value for people .
• How emotional intelligence can help me to become a great leader.
• The role of conservatism in preservation of traditional American culture.
• What can a freelancer do to stay creative?
• A memorable event from my past.
• Peculiarities of friendship in the age of media.
• Interconnection between emotions and memories.  
• Is consumerism a part of American culture?
• Different understanding of art.
• What can do to save lakes and oceans wildlife?
• Examples of the emotion of sadness in art.
• The creative way to organize a workplace at home.
• Emotions that paintings stir in people.
• Why Dresden is a great place to travel.
• How to fight the feeling of powerlessness .
• Personal experience adopting a pet from Humane Society.
• Is it possible for computers to have independent feeling?  

That’s it! When it comes to creative writing, you can do it! For more help on writing essays, check out this video.

If you still feel the task is too much to handle, you can turn to a custom writing service. Share the article with those who may need our advice and happy writing!

• Essays: Creative Nonfiction
• Overview of Creative Nonfiction: Purdue Online Writing Lab, College of Liberal Arts, Purdue University
• A Complete Guide to Writing Creative Nonfiction: MasterClass
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it was fascinating….but still you need to add more..tackle more on the format of a creative essay

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I apprepriate this article and video. That’s worthy for all teachers and learners. This article and video are very useful and effective for all learners and teachers who wants to start creative writing .

Many, many creative writing topics! Thanks so much for giving yourself the trouble to share these topics! They are a real salvation for me!

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How to Write a Creative Essay: Step by Step Guide

By: Tasha Kolesnikova

Most students don’t typically associate essay writing with fun — but creative essays can often prove quite enjoyable. The nature of this type of paper means that you’re usually given a lot of freedom when it comes to choosing a topic and writing on it. These kinds of essays give you a chance to exercise your creative muscle. However, if you're not used to writing creative essays, it can be challenging.

What Is a Creative Essay?

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This article will explain how to write a creative writing essay that’s bound to impress your readers, walking you through every step in the process.

A creative essay is a style of writing in which the writer utilizes their creativity to develop and present a written work. This type of essay is not bound by rigid structure, format, or style.

You usually will have a considerable degree of freedom when it comes to choosing the subject for your creative essay. Your professor may give you a theme or category to focus on, but you have free reign when choosing your topic , so long as it falls within the set category.

While it’s nice to have the freedom to write about whatever you like that prospect can also be fairly daunting. Read on to find out about the various types of creative essays and some essential creative essay writing tips.

Creative Essays Structure

The next point to consider is the structure of a creative essay. While the emphasis of the assignment is on creativity and imagination, this doesn’t mean you can completely forego a solid structure.

Think about your favorite novel by your favorite author. Does it have a well-defined structure? A clear beginning, middle, and end? In all likelihood, it does, and so should your essay. So, take the time to compose a creative writing essay plan before getting started.

An introduction for a creative essay should accomplish several things. It should:

• ⚠️ Grab the reader’s attention.
• 🎯 Introduce your subject matter.
• 💡 Explain the significance of the topic at hand.

As you can see for yourself, the introduction of a creative essay isn’t altogether dissimilar from that of a discursive or analytical text, though you will use different techniques in either to achieve the desired results.

The introduction should provide your reader with all the context necessary for them to follow the rest of the text. You should also introduce any relevant figures who appear in your story and explain your relation to them.

The main body of the essay should form the bulk of your piece. In this section, you should develop the content of your introduction . This part of the essay is also known as the confrontation because it’s where you will usually have to discuss the problems you faced or obstacles you overcame.

For example, in an admission essay for a high-pressure job, you might talk about a time when you were put under extreme pressure but coped well with the situation. This will make up the main body of your essay.

Next is the third and final part of your creative essay: the conclusion. Whereas in an academic piece of writing you might indicate it’s the final paragraphs with phrases like, “ In conclusion, ” or “ To conclude, ” in creative essay writing you should omit such terms. Instead, you should demonstrate that you’ve reached the end of your text by answering any remaining questions and reflecting on the events recorded in your essay.

Depending on what you set out to accomplish, you might choose to leave your essay open-ended. In most cases, though, a decisive closing statement will ensure that your piece leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

When it comes to creativity, each student has one’s mindset, way of thinking, and ideas. But since it is still an academic assignment, you should use characteristics that are common for such essays, e.g.:

• ☑️ You need to combine fiction and objective facts in a free manner.
• ☑️ You provide any facts; ensure they are relevant and accurate. The creative essay doesn’t exclude profound research or thorough analysis.
• ☑️ You must share a significant experience, describing it creatively.
• ☑️ It is essential to use various methods to grab the audience’s attention from the very first paragraph.

When you’re writing an argumentative essay , your task is to develop powerful arguments. And when it comes to creative assignment, you need to play with the audience, with its imagination. You have a lot of space for experiments, and it makes everything a bit complicated.

Types of Creative Essays

When you have an academic assignment and want to get the best grade, you need to organize the whole process and simplify it for yourself. Each student has one’s talent, and different work approaches. For example, some people prefer to work in absolute silence and vice versa. Some students need a clear structure, and there are ones who feel confident in the chaos. During your studies, you will understand what you prefer and how you can make your writing process more comfortable.

The first thing you should devote to is the type of your essay. You already know that you need to develop a creative text, but it is not enough. There are several types with their characteristics to consider.

This type is much like novel writing, where the author discusses real or imaginary events. The critical point that distinguishes this type from other ones is that you have not to tell only but to show. At the prewriting stage, you need to develop a structure that consists of the plot, characters, central concepts, etc. To share your thoughts, you’ll add descriptive details demonstrating your lexicon.

Narrative essays tell short stories and interact with the audience’s imagination.

The admission essay has academic and practical meaning since you can use it to reach your goal. It goes about enrolling in an educational institution or program. For example, if you want to get a place at the MBA school, you need to write a letter to help you stand out among other candidates.

The purpose of this essay is to tell a story about yourself. About your background and qualities that make you a decent candidate. It is also important to mention the importance of this program. Why exactly have you chosen it? How can you use your knowledge and experience to contribute?

This type of essay has many similarities with the previous one, but there are some differences. When it comes to the admission essay, your target audience is the admission committee that decides your future. You write to them following their requirements. It means you should accentuate your life's particular events and the peculiarities of your personality.

But when it comes to the personal essay , you have more space for creativity. You may have a topic, but it is you who decide the direction of the piece. You can tell a story from your past, describe your perspective, share your ideas on important issues, etc.

The academic descriptive essay is focused on facts. Students conduct thorough research, analyze information, and present it in the required way. But the creative one needs another approach. You should find another way to describe the object.

What you need to do is to think out of the box. Define the object's key characteristics and try to share them with readers in an entertaining manner.

The lyric essay has a lot of similarities with the descriptive one, but with the focus on imagery. If you’re studying English or a foreign language, literature, art, or culture, you’ll deal with lyric assignments.

And to be fair, it can be challenging. You can’t just use tricky epithets since they don’t convey your ideas. It is essential to feel the topic deeply and even create a new imaginary world in your head that you will colorfully share in your text.

How to Start a Creative Writing Essay

Now it’s time to consider the writing process, starting with how to write a creative essay introduction.

When you’re thinking about how to do the introduction to your creative writing essay, there are a few key things to consider:

• Have you included a hook to grab your reader? To do this, make use of vivid descriptions and emotive language.
• Have you introduced the subject matter? That way, your audience knows what to expect going into your work.
• Have you explained why the topic is important and relevant? While you do want to place a focus on why the topic at hand is important to you, you also want to make sure it’s relevant to your reader, as well.

Here are a few short examples of how to start a creative essay.

Growing up near the sea, I always enjoyed going for an early evening walk down by the shore. It was not a beach, nor was it particularly warm, but it was quiet and secluded, with its craggy rocks lending the place a wild sort of air. One evening walk, in particular, has stuck with me through the years: on that night, I was almost trapped by the tide.

My life has not been without hardship. A fractured family life and a school career fraught with stress and anxiety made my early years a struggle, and one that took huge resilience to overcome. For years, I downplayed the impact of my parents’ divorce, on the basis that I had always been much better off than millions of children around the globe. Nevertheless, I've grown to embrace the fact that my life hasn't always been simple and, as a result, value my ability to bounce back from any setback.

Even to those new to mountain climbing, Ben Lomond is not an overly strenuous climb. The path that ambles up its gray, craggy slopes ascends slowly, gradually, steadily rising above rugged hills and the sparkling blue waters of Loch Lomond. On clear days, you can look out over the water, the sound of birdsong ringing in your ears. But even on foggy, rainy days—of which there are many in Scotland—the place holds an otherworldly beauty, with gauzy, pale mist nestled in the hills.

A creative essay format is less rigid than other formats. The style of your creative essay will be largely determined by your topic, rather than following a specific format.

A creative writing essay format is similar to the format of any other assignment you might write for university. You should have clear, distinct paragraphs, each treating a separate point. While you may be employing some poetic techniques or imagery for your assignment, you should still treat it as an essay.

If you include any quotes or facts in your piece, you will still be required to provide sources. Make sure that you know what citation style you’re expected to use so that you aren’t penalized for formatting your references incorrectly.

As mentioned above, you still have to think about structure when writing a creative essay. Therefore, making up a creative writing essay outline before you start writing can be a very useful exercise. It both helps ensure that you are clear on your goals before you start writing, and gives you a framework to reference once you’ve begun the drafting process.

The first step when working on creative writing essays is to decide on a topic. If you’re not sure what to choose, you might benefit from a brainstorming session, writing down all your thoughts and ideas.

Once you’ve decided what topic to write on, think about what events you could discuss that would illustrate your topic best. Consider what points you should include when introducing the topic, what the focus of the story should be, and what finishing points you’ll make in your conclusion.

When working on this sort of project, sometimes looking at creative writing essay examples can be beneficial.

Examples of Creative Essays

We’ve included a couple of short creative essay examples for you to refer to.

Useful Tips and Tricks

The vital thing you should know is that the A-grade is not random. It is a result of thorough and consistent work. You need to polish your skills all the time, even when you’re not writing. Read some tips from our experts that help them to keep their mastership.

If you want to create interesting stories that will own readers' attention, you need to develop "live" characters made from flesh and bones, not plastic. The only way that you can use to create such personages is to mine the traits of real people. You can find inspiration in a best friend, a fellow student, and even in a regular individual from the subway.

Like artists use models to paint pictures, you can use people around you to become a better writer. Watch them in order to create realistic personages and depict character development.

If you read the articles by famous writers, you will mention that they always have a notebook. You also need it to jot down any thoughts that spring to mind. You never know when the idea might strike. It is impossible to plan inspiration.

This notebook can be useful since some ideas can be useful right now, while others will come in handy a bit later. You’ll have many writing assignments during your studies, so try to make them more accessible.

The second important piece of advice is to read a lot. You can find interesting writing prompts anywhere, especially if you’re looking for them. Yes, it is not a mistake. If you want to write, you should read. And read everything: books, articles, short stories and novels, Facebook posts, and even manuals for electronics.

Reading various authors, you will understand how they differ, what their word choice is, and how they convey their thoughts in different circumstances and with different purposes.

If you write assignments all the time and don’t receive A-grades, it means you should change something. Ask your professor for advice: what can you improve? You may have some strengths, but it is not enough to focus on them. Get rid of the main mistakes first.

Whether you're a newbie or have some writing experience, a community of like-minded people with the same goals is a must. It will provide you with role models, supportive and critique feedback, new insights, and topics for discussions. You can organize writing classes, challenges , and meetings with creative writers. Such a writing community may help you to get rid of writer's block, and just have fun with new friends.

During the pandemic, you can organize meetings via Zoom or Skype, create Clubhouse rooms, etc. Share access to your texts on Google Docs or read them aloud to convey small nuances and emotions.

There are no versatile receipts as with academic writing because creativity essay example is not about rules and patterns. However, it doesn't mean that you should give up if you don't feel like a great author. Try as many techniques as you can to develop your style. Of course, you can’t adhere to it all the time since you need to meet the professor’s expectations. However, it is a good base for your writing skills.

Starting the blog is a good idea if you feel the need to share your point of view and interact with the audience. Treat it like your own startup: you have to research to analyze your target readers, try various topics, experiment with different types of creative writing, etc. You can create stories and share them with people, write about your life, comment on the latest news, etc. You'll see whether the world is ready to read your content, and your blog will provide you with news insights on future development. Moreover, you may find yourself in blogging and start a bright career.

Modern students are really lucky since they have the opportunity to learn from their favorite writers regardless of their age, location, or educational institution. For example, Margaret Atwood, the author of The Handmaid's Tale has her online course on the Masterclass platform. Stephen King also shares his tips with young writers, e.g., he advises writing at least 2000 words per day. You can sign up for the Creative Writing course on Coursera or The School of New York Times . Even Pixar has created its course about storytelling with short, animated tutorials.

So, whether you're pursuing the Master of fine arts or just want to write better, leverage creative writing programs to expand your knowledge.

It is normal if you don’t have the inspiration, mood, or energy to develop academic assignments. Writing is not about the work only; it is an art as well . If you don’t have enough experience, you may be confused with a busy workload when you always have to generate something new.

If you understand that you can’t meet the deadline and provide a decent result, hire a professional author who will help you with your assignment.

• W — W here, when, who, what, why . When you're writing the argumentative essay, you come up with a classic 3-paragraph structure that consists of the introduction, main body, and conclusion. Dissertations are more complicated , e.g., you need to include the abstract, the Discussion, and other sections. Though creative writing is pretty different, you need to structure it as well. Use 5 Ws to introduce the setting, characters, plot, some kind of reflection.
• R — R esearch . You don't write from your head only. Great writers spend months and years finding information for their pieces. Of course, you don't have to visit another continent right now or spend a week in a library, but you need some kind of research if you want to add plausibility to your writing. For example, if your character is a nurse, think about a volunteering internship to gain new knowledge and describe it later.
• I — I mages and Imagination . Though you use words, you have to paint with them so that your readers see your stories. It means you shouldn't write that your character is greedy, write that he has never spent more than $15 on clothes. Describing the appearance, use adjectives and metaphors so that it is easy to imagine the real person.
• T — T enacity . Don't think that you'll become a great creative writer at once. You should be ready for the challenging path with victories and defeats. Don't give up on first difficulties, and try to learn lessons from them. Whether you have a goal to get A-grades only, reach 1000 subscribers on your blog, or publish your story in the magazine, you need to develop an action plan and work hard to fulfill it.
• E — E mpathy . Of course, you have your own ambitions. But the chances are you'll become a successful writer are low if you focus on your goals only. It means you have to consider your audience to make your language clear and stories interesting for them. They should recognize themselves and their friends in your characters, they should know what conflicts you are writing about and feel some emotions you want them to feel.
• R — R eality . Writing creative nonfiction, you surely have to base it on real-life stories, statistics, studies, etc. But even creative fiction can be realistic. Moreover, it should be realistic. Remember the "Alice in Wonderland". It is about the fictional world where animals can speak (and this is not the strangest thing!), but this world is still plausible. Working on your characters, you should understand how they would act and what is absolutely impossible in your setting.
• S — S implicity . Simplicity is a king these days. Get rid of long and confusing sentences, odd words, and pompous phrases. The best stories are always simple. What is interesting, it is not that easy to write this way. Sometimes it takes more time to write a short but informative paragraph in plain English than to come up with an essay full of water. So, proofread your texts and make sure each word contributes to the main idea.

Creative Techniques You Can Use to Improve Your Essay

When you read some brilliant texts, you may think they are written from scratch, in one go. There are authors with talent from nature, and they can choose the right words and put them on a sheet in a way that attracts and mesmerizes readers. Honestly, it is not always about talent. In most cases, it is about the experience. If you want to impress the professor and develop your skills to become a great writer, you need to practice.

We want to provide you with 6 interesting techniques that will make your writing better. Use some of them, or try to experiment, combining different methods in the same project. One day, you’ll develop your style based on gained knowledge, insights, and experience.

Usually, even when you're writing a personal essay, you adhere to some rules and patterns, outline, think about its structure, etc. Your brain has certain neural connections that help you to use all the knowledge you have so far. Since they are pretty useful, sometimes they can limit you. That's where freewriting comes to the rescue.

It is a creative writing exercise when you don't have to plan your writing in advance. You just get rid of all distractors, take your pen, and start. Write down everything that comes to your mind: weather, your breakfast, your career plans, your doubts about the future novel, etc. Julia Cameron, a renowned author, and artist advises writing "morning pages" as soon as you wake up when your brain is not overloaded with the daily stuff.

Usually, papers are divided into three parts we have explained above. Start with the setup, proceed to the confrontation, and finish up with the resolution. If you’re not an experienced author, it is better to follow the exact structure and stay on track until you feel confident enough to change something in the traditional structure.

Before you start writing, try to practice. Read some essay samples, short stories, and novels, and define their three acts. You will see how other authors transit from one section to another, which words they use, and how they communicate with readers. Inspire by their approaches and try to implement them in your piece. Later, you’ll be able to come up with your literary structure and techniques.

If you want to get an A-grade, start your text with a bang. You need to make readers fall in love with your text from the very first sentences. That’s why the introduction sometimes takes even more time than the central part.

The opening depends on the topic and the particular genre of your text. For example, when it is an admission essay, you can start with a short description of your motivation. But writing a fiction story gives free rein to your fantasy and creativity. You can transport readers directly back to the midst of the action, describe the imaginary world, and so on. Try to keep an intrigue since people should be interested in the further development of events. Give a hint that you will reveal the plot and provide more significant detail in the text's body.

A metaphor is a significant literary technique that can be used in any form of writing. It is beneficial to create an image that will explain to your audience the points you’re trying to convey. Remember the extended metaphor from Shakespeare "It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!". There is no need to write that Juliet was beautiful when you can compare it to the sun. All readers have their associations with this star, and not in a geographical sense. So, they are confident that they know what Shakespeare means, even if the author had other intentions.

Use extended metaphors when you want readers to identify themselves with your piece. Find a decent analogy to share your thoughts and implement them in the text mindfully.

As with any other form of writing, you should define your target audience and consider it above all else. Of course, it is just an academic assignment, and you have a couple of days before the deadline, your main goal is the professor. Most likely, one has provided you with instructions, and you should meet these expectations. But if it comes to a creative project, it would be a great idea to conduct a little research and find information about your potential readers when you have enough time. You have to develop a deep understanding of who they are so you can pique their interest and hold it till the last word.

It is not so easy to write creatively after various dry academic assignments. If you focus solely on facts, you can’t attract a broad audience. Of course, it works perfectly for a research project, a scientific piece, or a case study, but it’s certainly not relevant for such disciplines as history, culture, art, English literature, etc. It is where details are of great importance.

For example, writing about a particular historical epoch, you can mention aspects of a traditional lifestyle and provide quotes from contemporaries and interesting archaeological evidence. Try to think deeper and make some conclusions from the information you have found. What can you say about people of that epoch according to the furniture and clothes they used? There are many pieces about their everyday life, but it would be more interesting to think of their characters, habits, feelings, etc.

The main secret of creative writing is to be creative. You should write sincerely, from your soul. Then your readers will believe you.

There are a lot of authors with published books. But some of them are great, while others are quite mediocre. If you want to join the first group, you need to develop not your writing skills only. Think about the energy and the passion you put in the text. If you don’t believe in your ideas, don’t share them yourself, your audience won’t feel it.

That’s why it is vital to choose topics that you like. It is not the most straightforward task since sometimes your professor instructs you with particular requirements you can’t ignore. But even in these cases, you need to find something that you can hook to.

A creative writing essay is an essay that uses creative writing techniques, but still has a basis in reality. Most creative essays are anecdotal in nature, told from the viewpoint of the writer.

Before you begin writing, you first need to choose a topic and outline your creative essay structure. Once that’s done, you can begin writing your first draft, after which you should revise as necessary until you have a final product you’re happy with. Also, don’t forget to include an attention-grabbing title!

There are four different types of creative writing you should make yourself familiar with. These are the expository form, the descriptive form, the narrative form, and the persuasive form.

Creating writing can undoubtedly prove a challenge, but those in possession of particular skills and qualities may find it easier than those who don’t. Such ones possess a talent for using language in an evocative way, can pay attention to the structure of a piece, and can find inspiration in just about anything.

There are seven common styles of writing you are likely to encounter in high school and beyond into college and university. They are narrative, persuasive, expository, reflective, personal, compare and contrast, and descriptive.

Creative writing is enjoyable because of the freedom it allows, but that freedom is part of what makes it so challenging as well, since it can make choosing a topic quite difficult. It can also be quite challenging to write in a way that is engaging to people, utilizing strong images, evocative words, and other creative essay writing techniques.

In the first few sentences of your creative essay, you should make it clear what the subject matter of your assignment is and why it matters to you. Make sure that you also include a hook to grab your reader’s attention from the start.

At the risk of sounding pretentious, each person on this planet is really nothing more than a collection of stories; learning the craft of creative writing allows us to do those stories justice. On a more practical level, studying creative writing can help you to learn an adaptable set of transferable skills, which can be applied to countless careers.

Creative writing delves into the imagination, exploring ideas in a poetic, descriptive medium. This can make it easier for others to engage in your work, as it helps to make it even more impactful and emotive.

At college and university, creative writing courses help you to develop a broad range of skills. Not only will you learn how to write creative prose for stories, narrative essays, and so on, but you’ll also be taught poetic techniques as well as screenwriting.

Reading can teach you about the craft and spark fresh ideas. Writing often is another wonderful tip. If you quit exercising, your creative brain won't get stronger.

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I studied sociology and marketing at Europa-Universität Viadrina (Germany) and Universidade da Beira Interior (Portugal). When I was a sophomore, back in 2018, I decided to put what I've learned into practice, so I got my first job in digital marketing. I currently work in the content marketing department at Studybay, building strong, effective, and respectful communication between the platform and our clients.

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How to Write a Strong Creative Essay

An essay is a special type of written assignment that requires much more from the student than good research skills. The biggest component of successful essay writing is writing skills, and most people aren’t born with a set of skills that a professionally written essay requires. We acquire writing skills throughout our education, but what if you have an essay due in a couple of days and fear that your might lack creative writing skills?

This isn’t an uncommon situation at all – many students and newbie writers realize that putting their thoughts into words that will engage the audience and make up an interesting piece of writing isn’t the easiest thing in the world. However, there is also no need to become desperate, as we have some helpful tips to make your creative writing assignment easier and more successful.

What Is A Creative Essay?

So what exactly makes creative writing so different from anything else you’ll encounter in your life as a student and more challenging than any other assignment? A creative essay is a type of nonfiction writing, which means it should be based on real-life events. Unlike technical literature or journalistic pieces, creative essay doesn’t simply inform readers of an event or concept – it introduces the subject in a way that is fascinating and informative to the audience.

A creative essay writer can use different methods to convey their point of view: in many successful creative essays you will find as many literary devices as in a strong fiction piece. Depending on the purpose and the subject of the assignment, you may be asked to write a descriptive or narrative essay .

4 Features Of Creative Essay

There are several types of creative essays you may sooner or later encounter, but all truly creative nonfiction essays have these 4 features in common:

• The writer should base their writing on thorough research and analysis of the facts, which should then be interpreted for the story.
• A good creative essay combines facts with fiction in a manner that is both enlightening and entertaining to the readers.
• The writer employs various techniques to engage the audience starting from the very first sentence of the essay and keeps them interested until the last word.
• A creative essay needs to be based on a major, universal experience.

This is essentially everything you need to know about creative essay as a genre. If you want to know how to write a convincing creative essay, keep reading for some helpful tips!

How To Pick The Right College Creative Essay Topic

If you are free to choose your own topic for the next creative essay assignment, here are some ways to find the perfect topic for your writing exercise:

• Find a concept that greatly influenced your opinion and tell your audience about it;
• Imagine you have been assigned as a keynote speaker: what would you talk about?
• Describe your biggest talent and how it helped you navigate through life;
• Choose one historical event from the past that influenced you the most and talk about it;
• Who is the one historical figure you would like to talk to and why?
• Choose a viral video or some other piece of content everyone is familiar with and analyze it.

How To Write A Creative Essay

Working on any writing assignment and creative essay in particular requires a lot of effort from you, and in order to do the best job with creating a convincing piece of writing, there are some rules you need to follow. As soon as you have the topic for your essay, it is time to brainstorm some ideas. The best way to keep the ideas organized and connected to each other is to create a mind map, which will highlight the links between different concepts and points of your writing.

The next thing you need to do is conduct thorough research using every method available to you to gather as much evidence supporting your ideas as possible. You can use internet for doing the research, but don’t forget to properly reference your findings in the writing. When enough research was done, you can move on to creating the outline of your work. And don’t forget to design a powerful thesis , as it will serve as the base for the rest of the essay.

Creative Essay Structure

The structure of a typical creative essay isn’t different from the most traditional written assignment structure you likely worked with before. Your creative essay needs to have an introduction, at least three body paragraphs, and conclusion.

The introduction has to be powerful: view it as a way to grab attention of your readers and convince them to give your piece a more detailed look. The first sentence is especially important in this regard: you can use statistics, facts, quotes, or anecdotes as your hook. The final sentence of your introduction is a thesis statement – make sure to put some extra thought into it.

The next step in writing a creative essay is designing the body paragraphs. Each key point of your essay needs to be discussed in a separate paragraph. Start each paragraph with an opening sentence that explains what the readers are about to find out from the paragraph. Each point must be supported by strong evidence. You should also use smooth transitions between each paragraph to ensure a logical flow of the writing and showcase your excellent writing skills.

The conclusion is the finishing touch that also influences the success of your essay. Here you can once again state your thesis, briefly reintroduce the supporting ideas, and tell the audience why your work is significant.

Editing and Proofreading

Even the most skilled writers create several drafts of their work before showing it to the audience. Editing your essay may take some time, but it’s the best way to make sure your writing meets the highest standards. When reading and editing your work, pay attention even to the smallest details: correct the structure and flow of the essay if necessary.

Proofreading is another important aspect of essay writing. While proofreading your essay, you not only have to correct possible grammar and punctuation mistakes, but also ensure that your choice of words fits proper academic style. Of course, spelling mistakes have no place in a quality creative paper.

Writing a Creative Essay Title

The title of your creative essay is the first impression the reader gets of your work, so it’s super important not to take time and pay enough attention to coming up with a great title for the essay .

The title should be completely relevant to the subject and grab the reader’s attention from the first words. The most effective strategy for designing a winning title is taking the most essential idea of the essay and rewriting it to make it even more powerful and engaging.

Do You Need Help with Creative Essay?

These tips explain the nature of writing creative essay and give you some valuable insight into how to do a great job in this challenging task. But what if writing is simply not your forte? What if you have been looking for the ideal essay topic for days but still haven’t found one? What if there is simply not enough time and you already have several other important assignments?

Many students struggle with writing creative essays, but there is one simple solution that will help you improve your grades in the most effortless way possible! Let our professional writers create the essay for you, strictly following all the guidelines and requirements you provide. We have every tool and solution to deliver custom-written academic papers whenever you want, so don’t hesitate and get in touch with us to get the help you need .

27 Creative Writing Examples To Spark Your Imagination

With all the types of creative writing to choose from, it’s hard enough to focus on just one or two of your favorites. 

When it comes to writing your own examples, don’t be hard on yourself if you hit a wall.

We’ve all done it.

Sometimes, all you need is a generous supply of well-crafted and inspirational creative writing examples. 

Good thing you’re here!

For starters, let’s get clear on what creative writing is. 

What Is Creative Writing? 

How to start creative writing , 1. novels and novellas, 2. short stories and flash fiction, 3. twitter stories (140 char), 4. poetry or songs/lyrics, 5. scripts for plays, tv shows, and movies, 6. memoirs / autobiographical narratives, 7. speeches, 9. journalism / newspaper articles, 11. last wills and obituaries, 12. dating profiles and wanted ads, 13. greeting cards.

Knowing how to be a creative writer is impossible if you don’t know the purpose of creative writing and all the types of writing included. 

As you’ll see from the categories listed further on, the words “creative writing” contain multitudes: 

• Novels, novellas, short stories, flash fiction, microfiction, and even nanofiction;
• Poetry (traditional and free verse); 
• Screenplays (for theatrical stage performances, TV shows, and movies)
• Blog posts and feature articles in newspapers and magazines
• Memoirs and Testimonials
• Speeches and Essays
• And more—including dating profiles, obituaries, and letters to the editor. 

Read on to find some helpful examples of many of these types. Make a note of the ones that interest you most. 

Once you have some idea of what you want to write, how do you get started? 

Allow us to suggest some ideas that have worked for many of our readers and us: 

• Keep a daily journal to record and play with your ideas as they come; 
• Set aside a specific chunk of time every day (even 5 minutes) just for writing; 
• Use a timer to help you stick to your daily writing habit ; 
• You can also set word count goals, if you find that more motivating than time limits; 
• Read as much as you can of the kind of content you want to write; 
• Publish your work (on a blog), and get feedback from others. 

Now that you’ve got some ideas on how to begin let’s move on to our list of examples.  

Creative Writing Examples 

Read through the following examples to get ideas for your own writing. Make a note of anything that stands out for you. 

Inspiring novel-writing examples can come from the first paragraph of a well-loved novel (or novella), from the description on the back cover, or from anywhere in the story. 

From Circe by Madeline Miller

““Little by little I began to listen better: to the sap moving in the plants, to the blood in my veins. I learned to understand my own intention, to prune and to add, to feel where the power gathered and speak the right words to draw it to its height. That was the moment I lived for, when it all came clear at last and the spell could sing with its pure note, for me and me alone.”

From The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin: 

“‘I’ll make my report as if I told a story, for I was taught as a child on my homeworld that Truth is a matter of the imagination…. ” 

The shorter your story, the more vital it is for each word to earn its place.  Each sentence or phrase should be be necessary to your story’s message and impact. 

From “A Consumer’s Guide to Shopping with PTSD” by Katherine Robb

“‘“Do you know what she said to me at the condo meeting?” I say to the salesman. She said, “Listen, the political climate is so terrible right now I think we all have PTSD. You’re just the only one making such a big deal about it.”

“The salesman nods his jowly face and says, “That Brenda sounds like a real b***h.”’

From Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (collection of short stories)

“Something happened when the house was dark. They were able to talk to each other again.” (From ‘A Temporary Matter’)

Use the hashtag #VSS to find a generous sampling of short Twitter stories in 140 or fewer characters. Here are a few examples to get you started: 

From Chris Stocks on January 3rd, 2022 : 

“With the invention of efficient 3D-printable #solar panels & cheap storage batteries, the world was finally able to enjoy the benefits of limitless cheap green energy. Except in the UK. We’re still awaiting the invention of a device to harness the power of light drizzle.” #vss365 (Keyword: solar)

From TinyTalesbyRedsaid1 on January 2nd, 2022 : 

“A solar lamp would safely light our shack. But Mom says it’ll lure thieves. I squint at my homework by candlelight, longing for electricity.” #vss #vss365 #solar

If you’re looking for poetry or song-writing inspiration, you’ll find plenty of free examples online—including the two listed here: 

From “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” by Emily Dickinson

“I’m Nobody! Who are you?

Are you – Nobody – too?

Then there’s a pair of us!

Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know!

“How dreary – to be – Somebody!

How public – like a Frog –

To tell one’s name – the livelong June –

To an admiring Bog!

From “Enemy” by Imagine Dragons

“I wake up to the sounds

Of the silence that allows

For my mind to run around

With my ear up to the ground

I’m searching to behold

The stories that are told

When my back is to the world

That was smiling when I turned

Tell you you’re the greatest

But once you turn they hate us….” 

If you enjoy writing dialogue and setting a scene, check out the following excerpts from two very different screenplays. Then jot down some notes for a screenplay (or scene) of your own.

From Mean Girls by Tina Fey (Based on the book, Queen Bees and Wannabes” by Rosalind Wiseman

“Karen: ‘So, if you’re from Africa, why are you white?’

“Gretchen: ‘Oh my god, Karen! You can’t just ask people why they’re white!’

“Regina: ‘Cady, could you give us some privacy for, like, one second?’

“Cady: ‘Sure.’

Cady makes eye contact with Janis and Damien as the Plastics confer.

“Regina (breaking huddle): ‘Okay, let me just say that we don’t do this a lot, so you should know that this is, like, a huge deal.’

“Gretchen: ‘We want to invite you to have lunch with us every day for the rest of the week.’ 

“Cady: ‘Oh, okay…’ 

“Gretchen: Great. So, we’ll see you tomorrow.’

“Karen: ‘On Tuesdays, we wear pink.’” 

#10: From The Matrix by Larry and Andy Wachowski

“NEO: ‘That was you on my computer?’

“NEO: ‘How did you do that?’

“TRINITY: ‘Right now, all I can tell you, is that you are in danger. I brought you here to warn you.’

“NEO: ‘Of what?’

“TRINITY: ‘They’re watching you, Neo.’

“NEO: ‘Who is?’

“TRINITY: ‘Please. Just listen. I know why you’re here, Neo. I know what you’ve been doing. I know why you hardly sleep, why you live alone and why, night after night, you sit at your computer. You’re looking for him.’

“Her body is against his; her lips very close to his ear.

“TRINITY: ‘I know because I was once looking for the same thing, but when he found me he told me I wasn’t really looking for him. I was looking for an answer.’

“There is a hypnotic quality to her voice and Neo feels the words, like a drug, seeping into him.

“TRINITY: ‘It’s the question that drives us, the question that brought you here. You know the question just as I did.’

“NEO: ‘What is the Matrix?’

Sharing stories from your life can be both cathartic for you and inspiring or instructive (or at least entertaining) for your readers. 

From The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

“It was in fact the ordinary nature of everything preceding the event that prevented me from truly believing it had happened, absorbing it, incorporating it, getting past it. I recognize now that there was nothing unusual in this: confronted with sudden disaster, we all focus on how unremarkable the circumstances were in which the unthinkable occurred: the clear blue sky from which the plane fell, the routine errand that ended on the shoulder with the car in flames, the swings where the children were playing as usual when the rattlesnake struck from the ivy. ‘He was on his way home from work—happy, successful, healthy—and then, gone,’ I read in the account of the psychiatric nurse whose husband was killed in a highway accident… ” 

From Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt: 

“When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.”

From Call the Midwife: A True Story of the East End in the 1950s by Jennifer Worth: 

“Nonnatus House was situated in the heart of the London Docklands… The area was densely-populated and most families had lived there for generations, often not moving more than a street or two away from their birthplace. Family life was lived at close-quarters and children were brought up by a widely-extended family of aunts, grandparents, cousins, and older siblings. 

The purpose of most speeches is to inform, inspire, or persuade. Think of the last time you gave a speech of your own. How did you hook your listeners? 

From “Is Technology Making Us Smarter or Dumber?” by Rob Clowes (Persuasive)

“It is possible to imagine that human nature, the human intellect, emotions and feelings are completely independent of our technologies; that we are essentially ahistorical beings with one constant human nature that has remained the same throughout history or even pre-history? Sometimes evolutionary psychologists—those who believe human nature was fixed on the Pleistocene Savannah—talk this way. I think this is demonstrably wrong…. “

From “Make Good Art” by Neil Gaiman (Keynote Address for the University of Fine Arts, 2012):

“…First of all: When you start out on a career in the arts you have no idea what you are doing.”

“This is great. People who know what they are doing know the rules, and know what is possible and impossible. You do not. And you should not. The rules on what is possible and impossible in the arts were made by people who had not tested the bounds of the possible by going beyond them. And you can.”

“If you don’t know it’s impossible it’s easier to do. And because nobody’s done it before, they haven’t made up rules to stop anyone doing that again, yet.” 

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From “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (TEDGlobal)

“…I come from a conventional, middle-class Nigerian family. My father was a professor. My mother was an administrator. And so we had, as was the norm, live-in domestic help, who would often come from nearby rural villages. So, the year I turned eight, we got a new house boy. His name was Fide. The only thing my mother told us about him was that his family was very poor. My mother sent yams and rice, and our old clothes, to his family. And when I didn’t finish my dinner, my mother would say, “Finish your food! Don’t you know? People like Fide’s family have nothing.” So I felt enormous pity for Fide’s family.

“Then one Saturday, we went to his village to visit, and his mother showed us a beautifully patterned basket made of dyed raffia that his brother had made. I was startled. It had not occurred to me that anybody in his family could actually make something. All I had heard about them was how poor they were, so that it had become impossible for me to see them as anything else but poor. Their poverty was my single story of them.” 

Essays are about arguing a particular point of view and presenting credible support for it. Think about an issue that excites or angers you. What could you write to make your case for a specific argument? 

From “On Rules of Writing,” by Ursula K. Le Guin:

“Thanks to ‘show don’t tell,’ I find writers in my workshops who think exposition is wicked. They’re afraid to describe the world they’ve invented. (I make them read the first chapter of The Return of the Native , a description of a landscape, in which absolutely nothing happens until in the last paragraph a man is seen, from far away, walking along a road. If that won’t cure them nothing will.)” 

From “Fairy Tale is Form, Form is Fairy Tale ” by Kate Bernheimer (from The Writer’s Notebook) : 

“‘The pleasure of fairy tales,’ writes Swiss scholar Max Lüthi, ‘resides in their form.’ I find myself more and more devoted to the pleasure derived from form generally, and from the form of fairy tales specifically, and so I am eager to share what fairy-tale techniques have done for my writing and what they can do for yours. Fairy tales offer a path to rapture—the rapture of form—where the reader or writer finds a blissful and terrible home….  “

Picture yourself as a seasoned journalist brimming with ideas for your next piece. Or think of an article you’ve read that left you thinking, “Wow, they really went all out!” The following examples can inspire you to create front-page-worthy content of your own.

From “The Deadliest Jobs in America” by Christopher Cannon, Alex McIntyre and Adam Pearce (Bloomberg: May 13, 2015):

“The U.S. Department of Labor tracks how many people die at work, and why. The latest numbers were released in April and cover the last seven years through 2013. Some of the results may surprise you…. “

From “The Hunted” by Jeffrey Goldberg ( The Atlantic: March 29, 2010)

“… poachers continued to infiltrate the park, and to the Owenses they seemed more dangerous than ever. Word reached them that one band of commercial poachers had targeted them for assassination, blaming them for ruining their business. These threats—and the shooting of an elephant near their camp—provoked Mark to intensify his antipoaching activities. For some time, he had made regular night flights over the park, in search of meat-drying racks and the campfires of poachers; he would fly low, intentionally backfiring the plane and frightening away the hunters. Now he decided to escalate his efforts….. “

It doesn’t have to cost a thing to start a blog if you enjoy sharing your stories, ideas, and unique perspective with an online audience. What inspiration can you draw from the following examples?

#21: “How to Quit Your Job, Move to Paradise, and Get Paid to Change the World” by Jon Morrow of Smart Blogger (Problogger.com):

“After all, that’s the dream, right?

“Forget the mansions and limousines and other trappings of Hollywood-style wealth. Sure, it would be nice, but for the most part, we bloggers are simpler souls with much kinder dreams.

“We want to quit our jobs, spend more time with our families, and finally have time to write. We want the freedom to work when we want, where we want. We want our writing to help people, to inspire them, to change them from the inside out.

“It’s a modest dream, a dream that deserves to come true, and yet a part of you might be wondering…

“Will it?…. “

From “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” (blog post) by Mark Manson :

Headline: “Most of us struggle throughout our lives by giving too many f*cks in situations where f*cks do not deserve to be given.”

“In my life, I have given a f*ck about many people and many things. I have also not given a f*ck about many people and many things. And those f*cks I have not given have made all the difference…. “

Whether you’re writing a tribute for a deceased celebrity or loved one, or you’re writing your own last will and testament, the following examples can help get you started. 

From an obituary for the actress Betty White (1922-2021) on Legacy.com: 

“Betty White was a beloved American actress who starred in “The Golden Girls” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

“Died: Friday, December 31, 2021

“Details of death: Died at her home in Los Angeles at the age of 99.

“A television fixture once known as the First Lady of Game Shows, White was blessed with a career that just wouldn’t quit — indeed, her fame only seemed to grow as she entered her 80s and 90s. By the time of her death, she was considered a national treasure, one of the best-loved and most trusted celebrities in Hollywood…. “ 

From a last will and testament using a template provided by LegalZoom.com : 

“I, Petra Schade, a resident of Minnesota in Sherburne County — being of sound mind and memory — do hereby make, publish, and declare this to be my last will and testament…

“At the time of executing this will, I am married to Kristopher Schade. The names of my (and Kristopher’s) four children are listed below…

“I hereby express my intent not to be buried in a cemetery. I ask that my remains be cremated and then scattered at the base of a tree.

“None will have any obligation to visit my remains or leave any kind of marker. I ask that my husband honor this request more than any supposed obligation to honor my corpse with a funeral or with any kind of religious ceremony.

“I ask, too, that my children honor me by taking advantage of opportunities to grow and nurture trees in their area and (if they like) beyond, without spending more than their household budgets can support…. “

Dating profiles and wanted ads are another fun way to flex your creative writing muscles. Imagine you or a friend is getting set up on a dating app. Or pretend you’re looking for a job, a roommate, or something else that could (potentially) make your life better. 

Example of dating profile: 

Headline: “Female 49-year-old writer/coder looking for good company”

“Just moved to the Twin Cities metro area, and with my job keeping me busy most of the time, I haven’t gotten out much and would like to meet a friend (and possibly more) who knows their way around and is great to talk to. I don’t have pets (though I like animals) — or allergies. And with my work schedule, I need to be home by 10 pm at the latest. That said, I’d like to get better acquainted with the area — with someone who can make the time spent exploring it even more rewarding.”  

Example of a wanted ad for a housekeeper: 

“Divorced mother of four (living with three of them half the time) is looking for a housekeeper who can tidy up my apartment (including the two bathrooms) once a week. Pay is $20 an hour, not including tips, for three hours a week on Friday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm. Please call or text me at ###-###-#### and let me know when we could meet to discuss the job.”

These come in so many different varieties, we won’t attempt to list them here, but we will provide one upbeat example. Use it as inspiration for a birthday message for someone you know—or to write yourself the kind of message you’d love to receive. 

Happy 50th Birthday card:  

“Happy Birthday, and congratulations on turning 50! I remember you telling me your 40s were better than your 30s, which were better than your 20s. Here’s to the best decade yet! I have no doubt you’ll make it memorable and cross some things off your bucket list before your 51st.

“You inspire and challenge me to keep learning, to work on my relationships, and to try new things. There’s no one I’d rather call my best friend on earth.” 

Now that you’ve looked through all 27 creative writing examples, which ones most closely resemble the kind of writing you enjoy? 

By that, we mean, do you enjoy both reading and creating it? Or do you save some types of creative writing just for reading—and different types for your own writing? You’re allowed to mix and match. Some types of creative writing provide inspiration for others. 

What kind of writing will you make time for today? 

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WEEKLY WRITING PROMPTS

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Magical objects with tracy gold, show how an object’s meaning can change as a character changes..

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Creative Writing Prompts

When the idea to start a weekly newsletter with writing inspiration first came to us, we decided that we wanted to do more than provide people with topics to write about. We wanted to try and help authors form a regular writing habit and also give them a place to proudly display their work. So we started the weekly Creative Writing Prompts newsletter. Since then, Prompts has grown to a community of more than 450,000 authors, complete with its own literary magazine, Prompted .  

Here's how our contest works: every Friday, we send out a newsletter containing five creative writing prompts. Each week, the story ideas center around a different theme. Authors then have one week — until the following Friday — to submit a short story based on one of our prompts. A winner is picked each week to win $250 and is highlighted on our Reedsy Prompts page.

Interested in participating in our short story contest? Sign up here for more information! Or you can check out our full Terms of Use and our FAQ page .

Why we love creative writing prompts

If you've ever sat in front of a computer or notebook and felt the urge to start creating worlds, characters, and storylines — all the while finding yourself unable to do so — then you've met the author's age-old foe: writer's block. There's nothing more frustrating than finding the time but not the words to be creative. Enter our directory! If you're ready to kick writer's block to the curb and finally get started on your short story or novel, these unique story ideas might just be your ticket.

This list of 1800+ creative writing prompts has been created by the Reedsy team to help you develop a rock-solid writing routine. As all aspiring authors know, this is the #1 challenge — and solution! — for reaching your literary goals. Feel free to filter through different genres, which include...

Dramatic — If you want to make people laugh and cry within the same story, this might be your genre.

Funny — Whether satire or slapstick, this is an opportunity to write with your funny bone.

Romance — One of the most popular commercial genres out there. Check out these story ideas out if you love writing about love.

Fantasy — The beauty of this genre is that the possibilities are as endless as your imagination.

Dystopian – Explore the shadowy side of human nature and contemporary technology in dark speculative fiction.

Mystery — From whodunnits to cozy mysteries, it's time to bring out your inner detective.

Thriller and Suspense — There's nothing like a page-turner that elicits a gasp of surprise at the end.

High School — Encourage teens to let their imaginations run free.

Want to submit your own story ideas to help inspire fellow writers? Send them to us here.

After you find the perfect story idea

Finding inspiration is just one piece of the puzzle. Next, you need to refine your craft skills — and then display them to the world. We've worked hard to create resources that help you do just that! Check them out:

• How to Write a Short Story That Gets Published — a free, ten-day course by Laura Mae Isaacman, a full-time editor who runs a book editing company in Brooklyn.
• Best Literary Magazines of 2023 — a directory of 100+ reputable magazines that accept unsolicited submissions.
• Writing Contests in 2023 — the finest contests of 2021 for fiction and non-fiction authors of short stories, poetry, essays, and more.

Beyond creative writing prompts: how to build a writing routine

While writing prompts are a great tactic to spark your creative sessions, a writer generally needs a couple more tools in their toolbelt when it comes to developing a rock-solid writing routine . To that end, here are a few more additional tips for incorporating your craft into your everyday life.

• NNWT. Or, as book coach Kevin Johns calls it , “Non-Negotiable Writing Time.” This time should be scheduled into your routine, whether that’s once a day or once a week. Treat it as a serious commitment, and don’t schedule anything else during your NNWT unless it’s absolutely necessary.
• Set word count goals. And make them realistic! Don’t start out with lofty goals you’re unlikely to achieve. Give some thought to how many words you think you can write a week, and start there. If you find you’re hitting your weekly or daily goals easily, keep upping the stakes as your craft time becomes more ingrained in your routine.
• Talk to friends and family about the project you’re working on. Doing so means that those close to you are likely to check in about the status of your piece — which in turn keeps you more accountable.

Arm yourself against writer’s block. Writer’s block will inevitably come, no matter how much story ideas initially inspire you. So it’s best to be prepared with tips and tricks you can use to keep yourself on track before the block hits. You can find 20 solid tips here — including how to establish a relationship with your inner critic and apps that can help you defeat procrastination or lack of motivation.

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How to write in a creative essay format: structure, tips

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This guide outlines how you need to structure a creative essay format for the best result.

Creative essay format: overview

If you have decided to write a creative essay format, then make sure that your beginning and end match. They should connect to each other logically, flowing smoothly from one idea to another. Otherwise, you will confuse your readers, and they will not understand what you are trying to say.

The beginning and ending of a good creative essay contain only facts; anything else distracts from your central message. Your introduction should include an effective hook to get your readers interested in reading more about your topic or story.

An essay writer should know how to write all kinds of essays, and one of the most creative forms of essay writing can be when you’re asked to write a creative essay format. If you’ve never written a creative essay formatbefore, you may be wondering what makes them different from other essays. Creative essays are often used in college classes and high school writing courses, so it’s likely that you’ll write at least one creative essay before you graduate.

How to type faster

Creative essay format tips

Here are five tips to help you write your best creative essay yet!

1) Think about your perspective

Think about your perspective when writing a creative essay format. Even if you’re not being asked to write an essay from an unconventional viewpoint, it’s still worth it to think outside of what you know and consider how other people might view your topic. Looking at things from another perspective can really help with your creativity!

Why do you want to write your essay? What do you hope will be achieved by writing it? Is there a specific audience for whom you’re writing? Are there any limitations on what you can write about, and how long or short your essay needs to be? These are all important questions to consider. While drafting and revising your paper, keep them in mind; they’ll help guide your topic, direction, tone, and structure choices.

2) Show, don’t tell

The most important rule of a creative essay format is showing, not telling. It’s easy to use words like lovely or beautiful when describing an element of your story, but instead let your characters actually do things that reflect their feelings. Don’t say he was happy—show him playing with his children and sharing warm glances with his wife while sipping on coffee at a local cafe.

3) Tell an original story

For creative essay writers, originality is key. You’ll want to create a piece that expresses your voice and leaves an impression. Your essay should have at least one twist that surprises and delights readers. This twist might come in the form of narrative structure or even diction—you can also think about adding objects or images into your essay. There are many ways to tell an engaging story; as long as you’re crafting something personal, you’re on track for writing something creative.

4) Use specific details

Attention, aspiring essay writer : If you want to create a memorable essay that grabs your reader’s attention right from the start, you need details. Of course, in order for those details to be useful, they must be specific and visual (instead of vague). Look around your environment—right now—and pay attention to what catches your eye. Now look at how you can use those items or events in an essay without boring or confusing your reader.

5) Personalize what you write

When you’re trying to write creatively, you need to make sure that your essay is unique and your voice is clear. And there’s no better way of doing that than by customizing each essay so it reflects you. But how do you avoid plagiarism when doing so? The key is to never copy from other sources—instead, use quotes from other writers in order to demonstrate how their writing inspires you. For example, if you’re writing about love, use quotes from people who have written about love before—but don’t just repeat what they say; show why these words are meaningful for you personally. This will help ensure that your essay doesn’t read like a generic essay format but instead feels personal and authentic.

Improve your creative essay format skills

The creative essay format is nothing more than writing better texts, which captivate the reader’s interest and are able to make him read material from start to finish.

But how is it possible to develop this creative essay format skill and be successful in producing any type of content? Check out the nine tips we have prepared to help you master the creative essay format!

Don’t wait for inspiration to arrive

At some point you’ve had to create content without being as creative as you would like, right? It is common to believe that these situations are a big problem to create amazing creative essay format examples, especially if you are a freelance writer, but this is not true.

Creative writing does not depend on inspiration. It is a constant effort, which requires more discipline and perseverance than an incredible idea. Whoever writes every day, whether inspiration comes or not, is closer to mastering creative writing.

Read constantly

Do you know what can improve anyone’s creative essay format? Read more. When someone produces many texts, it is common that, due to fatigue, they begin to neglect reading – or associate it only with the consumption of specific materials, such as those related to the guidelines that he addresses most often.

Do you want a tip to read whenever possible and optimize content production? Go back to reading the kind of fiction you like. This habit will make you get used to consuming a lot of content again and make you a more creative person.

Write as much as possible

Right at the beginning of this article, we talked about discipline. It appears here again, although as a reminder that it is necessary to write throughout the week.

Even if you do not produce creative essay format content that will be published on your blog or on a customer’s page, remember to write a text every day. Keeping a diary can help you build this habit.

Participate in a workshop

How about teaming up with other people to develop your creative essay format writing? Writing workshops are meetings between content producers and experts on the subject and take place periodically in large cities.

If you do not have access to them or availability to participate in each one, create workshops with your friends or start following YouTube channels and free courses on the subject. These exercises take you out of your comfort zone and ensure that you will write about topics you have never explored.

Final words…

As you can see, if you follow this structure and tips for a creative essay format, you will succeed in producing an engaging and interesting piece of writing.

ALSO READ: How to write an essay for a scholarship and what include in an application

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Improve Essays with Creative Writing Techniques

Last updated: 5th september 2024.

Rhys Mackenzie

10 creative writing techniques to improve your essays.

Want to improve your essay writing? Take notes of these 10 different creative writing tips to ensure your next assignment stands out against the rest.

1. Freewriting

In the first stages of your writing; whether it be essays or fiction, it’s always a good idea to sit down and brainstorm any initial ideas. In particular, freewriting is a popular creative writing technique used by lots of artists to help them begin to think and brainstorm their ideas.

Freewriting was developed by Peter Elbow in 1973, and similar to brainstorming, encourages the writer to keep writing without stopping. Writers are encouraged to write down every idea they can think of (no matter how wrong or irrelevant it may be – you can judge this later) and do so without worrying about grammar or spelling.

In turn, it’s believed that freewriting helps to:

• Increase the flow of ideas – reducing the chance of forgetting to include a good one.
• Helps to increase fluency when writing for longer periods of time.

For essays, this could involve writing the question in the middle of a piece of paper and then mind-mapping any thoughts or ideas that come to mind. This mind map can include literally anything that you can think of that’s relevant to your essay; from what types of questions you may need to cover in your essay, to previous pieces of text you’ve read that may be useful as evidence.

You don’t want to spend too much time on this section, after all – it is just an initial brainstorm. So, set yourself a timer for ten minutes, plug in your favourite playlist, and let the ideas flow naturally.

Using this creative essay writing technique will really help you to gather some initial ideas on what your essay might explore, and will get you ‘in the zone’ to begin your research and planning.

2. Create a Storyboard/Outline

Once you’ve gathered your initial thoughts on your essay topic, you’re going to want to start formulating them into a plan of how to tackle your assignment. After all, there’s nothing worse than sitting down in front of your computer and thinking “So, where do I go from here?”

Before it comes to putting pen to paper, creative writers always produce an outline of what direction their story is going to take and what it is they want their writing to say. For essays, it should be no different.

Storyboards are an excellent creative writing technique to help writers prepare narratives, either with a brief story outlining the plot diagram (or in this case, the ‘plot’ of your essay), or with an extended illustration of the story, broken into ‘frames’ (or in your case, into paragraphs).

Though it does not need to be long, you should still create a basic outline which includes; the introduction/the thesis, and the main points you want to discuss, followed by the conclusion that draws it all together and summarizes an answer to the thesis. Remember to include any evidence you may need to use to back up your points. Ultimately, as long as it’s clear and makes sense to you, it doesn’t matter how you go about creating your essay outline.

3. Think About Your Reader, Constantly

When it comes to writing, you must always bear your reader in mind. You need to have a clear understanding of who will be reading your essay and how you can write in a way that will hold their attention throughout it.

Creative writers, spend a lot of editing time to ensure that their writing is as engaging as it can be, often including lots of intricate details and additional snippets of information to enrich the story.

Although essay writing is usually limited by strict word counts and the genre in which you are writing, you should still make way for plenty of editing time during the writing process so you can make your essay as engaging as possible.

If you are writing an essay for a teacher who has set you the question, then they probably have at least another 15 or 20 essays to read in the marking process. Though it’s important for you to still include the obvious, it’s a good idea to try and be original in your writing – perhaps trying a new structure, or including arguments from lesser-known but still relevant thinkers and writers which may spark the reader’s interest.

Use a combination of different sentence starters and structures to keep your writing fresh and interesting. Good flow is critical to making your essay easy to read – so check this too as you’re editing through your writing. You want to create a fine balance between using new sentence starters and making your essay difficult to read.

4. Live Within Your Writing

Any great writer will tell you that the secret to their success is by living amongst their writing. Okay, not literally – but by knowing every minute detail that goes on within the realm of their story.

For example – they may be writing a short story about a knight who is on a conquest to rescue a princess from a tower. However, if you asked the writer what that character ate for breakfast, or what time they went to bed the previous night, they’d be able to give you an answer because they know their characters so well.

This should be no different from your essay writing. Make sure you know and understand every detail of your essay, and, if you have the room, expand on it within the body of your text.

These details can be anything from interesting facts about any Literature or writers you’re critically reviewing, to unique details about theories to demonstrate your reading around the subject. Remember, the more you can convince the reader that you are a master of your topic, the easier they will find it to grade you highly!

5. Always Create an Enticing Opening

If you ever pursue Creative Writing as a summer course or as a main subject in further education, one of the most common creative writing tips you’ll be given is to create the best opening possible. The start of your writing sets the entire premise for the rest of your work; you need to give the best impression possible to convince your readers that they will enjoy the text.

Creative writing often opens with a hook that will grab the reader’s attention from the start. Through ways of disrupting chronology, using vivid imagery, or posing thought-provoking questions, all writers aim to achieve maximum impact from the start and entice the audience to continue reading.

As with any good piece of writing, you need to ensure your essays have something enticing to offer the reader from the start. Your reader will make an initial impression of your writing right from the very first sentence: begin with a solid introduction and they’ll be keen to keep reading on.

There are a few ways to create an enticing opening. You could try using rhetorical questions to make them become active in their reading, or use imagery to paint the scene of your essay like you would as a creative writer. You could even include a quote from an authoritative writer which sums up the premise of your essay, demonstrating your wider reading.

Just remember, your tutor or teacher will probably have lots of other essays to mark. If you can make yours interesting and stand out from the very beginning, you’ll engage them much more than if you were to follow the same pattern as all your other classmates.

6. Enrich Your Writing with Detail

Ask any reader or writer what makes writing engaging, and they’ll tell you it’s all about the detail.

Read the two following excerpts of text:

“William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 23, 1564, to his parents Mary Arden and John Shakespeare. Shakespeare was the third child of eight.”

“On a quiet spring day on April 23, 1564, Mary Arden and John Shakespeare welcomed their third child, a son named William Shakespeare. Born and raised in the thriving market town of Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare grew up amongst a large family of eight siblings – but by no means did the business of family life ever affect his talents.”

Which one did you prefer? The one with the detail? Precisely.

Just as creative writers include plenty of detail and description to enrich their work, so should you with your essays. Essays can become quite dry if you solely focus on the academic, but you can include extra details to keep them exciting.

Though this may be difficult for essays with a strict word limit or ones that are quite scientific, you can definitely add relevant details to essays which are centred around the humanities, literature , theatre, or history . For example, if writing about a play by Bertolt Brecht, you can mention the political changes that were occurring in his home country in the time and how these influenced his work.

Including extra details and snippets of information will not only keep your reader engaged, but demonstrate your confidence to read around the topic and take your learning to the next level; this self-guided, independent study will really impress the reader and could earn you extra marks.

7. Don’t Conclude with Ambiguity

To be ambiguous or not – that really is the question. Creative writers often have mixed feelings about using ambiguity as an effective creative writing technique.

Sometimes, leaving an open ending can be great for letting the reader make up their own opinion on the subject, but most often, audiences are irritated by ambiguity because they want to know the full resolution of a story. But this is certainly a mistake you don’t want to make when writing your essay!

Ensure you always fully conclude your essay so the examiner/marker understands what you have learned during the process and what your final answer to the essay question is. Unlike creative writing, your teacher needs to know that you’ve understood and formed a final conclusion on your work – it’s literally what will earn you marks.

But you also need to make sure that this conclusion is clear and easy to find. With lots of essays to mark, your teacher will be looking for a clear and concise ending point – don’t be ambiguous or ‘fluffy’ or, like most readers, they will get frustrated.

8. Edit, Edit, Edit!

Editing is arguably one of the most important creative writing techniques all writers must use. It’s nearly impossible to write the perfect piece of literature in your first draft. Especially with essay writing.

Stephen King wrote in his memoir on the craft: “Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.”

And he makes a great point. When editing, especially when needing to cut down on word counts, it can be really difficult to comprehend cutting out sections of text you’ve spent time constructing with care.

But to make your work the best it possibly can be, you need to be brutally honest with yourself and ask the question; “is this really adding value to my work?” If not, scrap it and, if you have space in the word count – add something even more enriching.

Ensure that when you are planning your essay, you leave enough time to review and edit your first draft. Go back to it after a break and read it through with a fresh pair of eyes. You may spot some glaringly obvious mistakes which you may have missed in the first draft!

9. Peer Review

Using your peers to review your work is another effective creative essay writing technique to ensure your final piece of work is the best it can be.

Lots of creative writers will ask their friends, editors, and even focus groups to read and review their work as part of the editing process. Peer reviews can offer many insightful details including:

• Finding any loopholes or incomplete stories
• Checking for grammatical and spelling errors
• Help to cut out irrelevant details and ‘waffle’

Once you’ve completed and edited your essay, why not ask a friend or family member to read through and sense-check it. It’s worth asking someone outside of your class to read through, so not to give them any ideas for their own ideas! They’ll help you to identify any sections that don’t make sense, may need improvements, or have incorrect grammar or spelling.

Peer reviews can be daunting; your writing is a product that you’ve created all on your own, and it can be nerve-wracking for someone else to criticize your work. But remember that all criticism is there to help make your writing better and hopefully earn you more marks. It can only benefit your essay!

10. Keep a Note of Your Ideas

All great writers keep a notebook by their side, ready to jot down any ideas that they may think of or learn about. This is a great thing to do with essay writing too – you’ll be surprised how many ideas may pop into your mind randomly, such as when you’re out and about shopping, or on your commute to class – and they could be your best ideas yet!

This doesn’t just have to be during the process of writing just one essay. Any ideas that didn’t make the final cut for one piece of work may just be helpful for another in the future – so keep them in a safe place, should you ever need some inspiration!

How can creative writing techniques improve my essay?

Creative writing techniques can make your essay more engaging, detailed, and enjoyable to read. They can help you to think outside the box, create vivid imagery, and structure your work more appealingly.

Can I use creative writing techniques for scientific essays?

Yes, although scientific essays often have stricter guidelines, you can still use creative techniques to make your writing more engaging. This includes using detailed descriptions, creating an enticing introduction, and ensuring your conclusion is clear and concise.

How important is editing in essay writing?

Editing is crucial in essay writing. It allows you to refine your ideas, correct mistakes, and ensure your writing is clear and concise. It can also help you to cut out irrelevant details and improve the overall quality of your work.

Should I always use peer review for my essays?

While it's not always necessary, peer review can provide valuable feedback and help you to identify areas for improvement. It can also give you a fresh perspective on your work and help you to refine your ideas.

How can I make my essay stand out?

To make your essay stand out, use creative writing techniques to create an engaging introduction, detailed body paragraphs, and a clear conclusion. Ensure your writing is well-structured, free of errors, and includes interesting and relevant details.

Creative writing and academic essay writing actually have a lot more in common than you may have once thought; both ultimately aim to engage an audience and convey a particular message, theory, or point of view.

In this respect, using creative writing techniques within your essay planning and writing can help you to produce a more enriching, engaging and ultimately, better piece of work than you may have created before.

All the tips included in this list are regularly used by some of the most established writers in the world – so have been tried and tested with proven success. Begin using them in your next assignment and get ready to see your writing stand out against the rest!

Develop your Creative Writing Techniques this Summer

Want to take some time to improve your creative writing techniques? Put pen to paper and feel inspired with an English Literature and Creative Writing course this summer.

A Creative Writing summer course can teach you so much about writing and your own techniques, and can provide you with so many transferable skills to help benefit your academic writing in the future.

Join us in the spell-bounding city of Oxford, where you’ll have the opportunity to spend 2-weeks working on your craft, experiencing a new cultural setting, and making friendships with other passionate writers from around the world.

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After submitting your application, we'll be in touch very soon to inform you of the outcome. Apply now to begin your journey with Oxford Summer Courses!

About the author

Rhys mackenzie is the website marketing manager at oxford summer courses. with extensive experience in seo and digital content management, they are passionate about showcasing the best that oxford has to offer. their previous role at experience oxfordshire gave them a deep appreciation for the city's unique cultural and academic offerings. learn more about rhys here ., share this article.

Here are some creative writing tips: brainstorm freely, outline your ideas, consider your audience, immerse yourself in your writing, craft captivating openings, enrich your writing with details, avoid ambiguous conclusions, edit meticulously, seek peer feedback, and keep track of your ideas.

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• College essay

How to Write a College Essay | A Complete Guide & Examples

The college essay can make or break your application. It’s your chance to provide personal context, communicate your values and qualities, and set yourself apart from other students.

A standout essay has a few key ingredients:

• A unique, personal topic
• A compelling, well-structured narrative
• A clear, creative writing style
• Evidence of self-reflection and insight

To achieve this, it’s crucial to give yourself enough time for brainstorming, writing, revision, and feedback.

In this comprehensive guide, we walk you through every step in the process of writing a college admissions essay.

Table of contents

Why do you need a standout essay, start organizing early, choose a unique topic, outline your essay, start with a memorable introduction, write like an artist, craft a strong conclusion, revise and receive feedback, frequently asked questions.

While most of your application lists your academic achievements, your college admissions essay is your opportunity to share who you are and why you’d be a good addition to the university.

Your college admissions essay accounts for about 25% of your application’s total weight一and may account for even more with some colleges making the SAT and ACT tests optional. The college admissions essay may be the deciding factor in your application, especially for competitive schools where most applicants have exceptional grades, test scores, and extracurriculars.

What do colleges look for in an essay?

Admissions officers want to understand your background, personality, and values to get a fuller picture of you beyond your test scores and grades. Here’s what colleges look for in an essay :

• Demonstrated values and qualities
• Vulnerability and authenticity
• Self-reflection and insight
• Creative, clear, and concise writing skills

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

It’s a good idea to start organizing your college application timeline in the summer of your junior year to make your application process easier. This will give you ample time for essay brainstorming, writing, revision, and feedback.

While timelines will vary for each student, aim to spend at least 1–3 weeks brainstorming and writing your first draft and at least 2–4 weeks revising across multiple drafts. Remember to leave enough time for breaks in between each writing and editing stage.

Create an essay tracker sheet

If you’re applying to multiple schools, you will have to juggle writing several essays for each one. We recommend using an essay tracker spreadsheet to help you visualize and organize the following:

• Deadlines and number of essays needed
• Prompt overlap, allowing you to write one essay for similar prompts

You can build your own essay tracker using our free Google Sheets template.

College essay tracker template

Ideally, you should start brainstorming college essay topics the summer before your senior year. Keep in mind that it’s easier to write a standout essay with a unique topic.

If you want to write about a common essay topic, such as a sports injury or volunteer work overseas, think carefully about how you can make it unique and personal. You’ll need to demonstrate deep insight and write your story in an original way to differentiate it from similar essays.

What makes a good topic?

• Meaningful and personal to you
• Uncommon or has an unusual angle
• Reveals something different from the rest of your application

Brainstorming questions

You should do a comprehensive brainstorm before choosing your topic. Here are a few questions to get started:

• What are your top five values? What lived experiences demonstrate these values?
• What adjectives would your friends and family use to describe you?
• What challenges or failures have you faced and overcome? What lessons did you learn from them?
• What makes you different from your classmates?
• What are some objects that represent your identity, your community, your relationships, your passions, or your goals?
• Whom do you admire most? Why?
• What three people have significantly impacted your life? How did they influence you?

How to identify your topic

Here are two strategies for identifying a topic that demonstrates your values:

• Start with your qualities : First, identify positive qualities about yourself; then, brainstorm stories that demonstrate these qualities.
• Start with a story : Brainstorm a list of memorable life moments; then, identify a value shown in each story.

After choosing your topic, organize your ideas in an essay outline , which will help keep you focused while writing. Unlike a five-paragraph academic essay, there’s no set structure for a college admissions essay. You can take a more creative approach, using storytelling techniques to shape your essay.

Two common approaches are to structure your essay as a series of vignettes or as a single narrative.

Vignettes structure

The vignette, or montage, structure weaves together several stories united by a common theme. Each story should demonstrate one of your values or qualities and conclude with an insight or future outlook.

This structure gives the admissions officer glimpses into your personality, background, and identity, and shows how your qualities appear in different areas of your life.

Topic: Museum with a “five senses” exhibit of my experiences

• Introduction: Tour guide introduces my museum and my “Making Sense of My Heritage” exhibit
• Story: Racial discrimination with my eyes
• Lesson: Using my writing to document truth
• Story: Broadway musical interests
• Lesson: Finding my voice
• Story: Smells from family dinner table
• Lesson: Appreciating home and family
• Story: Washing dishes
• Lesson: Finding moments of peace in busy schedule
• Story: Biking with Ava
• Lesson: Finding pleasure in job well done
• Conclusion: Tour guide concludes tour, invites guest to come back for “fall College Collection,” featuring my search for identity and learning.

Single story structure

The single story, or narrative, structure uses a chronological narrative to show a student’s character development over time. Some narrative essays detail moments in a relatively brief event, while others narrate a longer journey spanning months or years.

Single story essays are effective if you have overcome a significant challenge or want to demonstrate personal development.

Topic: Sports injury helps me learn to be a better student and person

• Situation: Football injury
• Challenge: Friends distant, teachers don’t know how to help, football is gone for me
• Turning point: Starting to like learning in Ms. Brady’s history class; meeting Christina and her friends
• My reactions: Reading poetry; finding shared interest in poetry with Christina; spending more time studying and with people different from me
• Insight: They taught me compassion and opened my eyes to a different lifestyle; even though I still can’t play football, I’m starting a new game

Brainstorm creative insights or story arcs

Regardless of your essay’s structure, try to craft a surprising story arc or original insights, especially if you’re writing about a common topic.

Never exaggerate or fabricate facts about yourself to seem interesting. However, try finding connections in your life that deviate from cliché storylines and lessons.

Admissions officers read thousands of essays each year, and they typically spend only a few minutes reading each one. To get your message across, your introduction , or hook, needs to grab the reader’s attention and compel them to read more..

Avoid starting your introduction with a famous quote, cliché, or reference to the essay itself (“While I sat down to write this essay…”).

While you can sometimes use dialogue or a meaningful quotation from a close family member or friend, make sure it encapsulates your essay’s overall theme.

Find an original, creative way of starting your essay using the following two methods.

Option 1: Start with an intriguing hook

Begin your essay with an unexpected statement to pique the reader’s curiosity and compel them to carefully read your essay. A mysterious introduction disarms the reader’s expectations and introduces questions that can only be answered by reading more.

Option 2: Start with vivid imagery

Illustrate a clear, detailed image to immediately transport your reader into your memory. You can start in the middle of an important scene or describe an object that conveys your essay’s theme.

A college application essay allows you to be creative in your style and tone. As you draft your essay, try to use interesting language to enliven your story and stand out .

Show, don’t tell

“Tell” in writing means to simply state a fact: “I am a basketball player.” “ Show ” in writing means to use details, examples, and vivid imagery to help the reader easily visualize your memory: “My heart races as I set up to shoot一two seconds, one second一and score a three-pointer!”

First, reflect on every detail of a specific image or scene to recall the most memorable aspects.

• What are the most prominent images?
• Are there any particular sounds, smells, or tastes associated with this memory?
• What emotion or physical feeling did you have at that time?

Be vulnerable to create an emotional response

You don’t have to share a huge secret or traumatic story, but you should dig deep to express your honest feelings, thoughts, and experiences to evoke an emotional response. Showing vulnerability demonstrates humility and maturity. However, don’t exaggerate to gain sympathy.

Use appropriate style and tone

Make sure your essay has the right style and tone by following these guidelines:

• Use a conversational yet respectful tone: less formal than academic writing, but more formal than texting your friends.
• Prioritize using “I” statements to highlight your perspective.
• Write within your vocabulary range to maintain an authentic voice.
• Write concisely, and use the active voice to keep a fast pace.
• Follow grammar rules (unless you have valid stylistic reasons for breaking them).

You should end your college essay with a deep insight or creative ending to leave the reader with a strong final impression. Your college admissions essay should avoid the following:

• Summarizing what you already wrote
• Stating your hope of being accepted to the school
• Mentioning character traits that should have been illustrated in the essay, such as “I’m a hard worker”

Here are two strategies to craft a strong conclusion.

Option 1: Full circle, sandwich structure

The full circle, or sandwich, structure concludes the essay with an image, idea, or story mentioned in the introduction. This strategy gives the reader a strong sense of closure.

In the example below, the essay concludes by returning to the “museum” metaphor that the writer opened with.

Option 2: Revealing your insight

You can use the conclusion to show the insight you gained as a result of the experiences you’ve described. Revealing your main message at the end creates suspense and keeps the takeaway at the forefront of your reader’s mind.

Revise your essay before submitting it to check its content, style, and grammar. Get feedback from no more than two or three people.

It’s normal to go through several rounds of revision, but take breaks between each editing stage.

Also check out our college essay examples to see what does and doesn’t work in an essay and the kinds of changes you can make to improve yours.

Respect the word count

Most schools specify a word count for each essay , and you should stay within 10% of the upper limit.

Remain under the specified word count limit to show you can write concisely and follow directions. However, don’t write too little, which may imply that you are unwilling or unable to write a thoughtful and developed essay.

Check your content, style, and grammar

• First, check big-picture issues of message, flow, and clarity.
• Then, check for style and tone issues.
• Finally, focus on eliminating grammar and punctuation errors.

Get feedback

Get feedback from 2–3 people who know you well, have good writing skills, and are familiar with college essays.

• Teachers and guidance counselors can help you check your content, language, and tone.
• Friends and family can check for authenticity.
• An essay coach or editor has specialized knowledge of college admissions essays and can give objective expert feedback.

The checklist below helps you make sure your essay ticks all the boxes.

College admissions essay checklist

I’ve organized my essay prompts and created an essay writing schedule.

I’ve done a comprehensive brainstorm for essay topics.

I’ve selected a topic that’s meaningful to me and reveals something different from the rest of my application.

I’ve created an outline to guide my structure.

I’ve crafted an introduction containing vivid imagery or an intriguing hook that grabs the reader’s attention.

I’ve written my essay in a way that shows instead of telling.

I’ve shown positive traits and values in my essay.

I’ve demonstrated self-reflection and insight in my essay.

I’ve used appropriate style and tone .

I’ve concluded with an insight or a creative ending.

I’ve revised my essay , checking my overall message, flow, clarity, and grammar.

I’ve respected the word count , remaining within 10% of the upper word limit.

Congratulations!

It looks like your essay ticks all the boxes. A second pair of eyes can help you take it to the next level – Scribbr's essay coaches can help.

Colleges want to be able to differentiate students who seem similar on paper. In the college application essay , they’re looking for a way to understand each applicant’s unique personality and experiences.

Your college essay accounts for about 25% of your application’s weight. It may be the deciding factor in whether you’re accepted, especially for competitive schools where most applicants have exceptional grades, test scores, and extracurricular track records.

A standout college essay has several key ingredients:

• A unique, personally meaningful topic
• A memorable introduction with vivid imagery or an intriguing hook
• Specific stories and language that show instead of telling
• Vulnerability that’s authentic but not aimed at soliciting sympathy
• Clear writing in an appropriate style and tone
• A conclusion that offers deep insight or a creative ending

While timelines will differ depending on the student, plan on spending at least 1–3 weeks brainstorming and writing the first draft of your college admissions essay , and at least 2–4 weeks revising across multiple drafts. Don’t forget to save enough time for breaks between each writing and editing stage.

You should already begin thinking about your essay the summer before your senior year so that you have plenty of time to try out different topics and get feedback on what works.

Most college application portals specify a word count range for your essay, and you should stay within 10% of the upper limit to write a developed and thoughtful essay.

You should aim to stay under the specified word count limit to show you can follow directions and write concisely. However, don’t write too little, as it may seem like you are unwilling or unable to write a detailed and insightful narrative about yourself.

If no word count is specified, we advise keeping your essay between 400 and 600 words.

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The best writing exercises bring out our latent creativity. Especially if you ever feel stuck or blocked, making creative writing exercises part of your daily writing practice can be a great way to both hone your skills and explore new frontiers in your writing. Whether you’re a poet, essayist, storyteller, or genre-bending author, these free writing exercises will jumpstart your creative juices and improve your writing abilities.

24 of the Best Free Writing Exercises to Try Out Today

The best creative writing exercises will push you out of your comfort zone and get you to experiment with words. Language is your sandbox, so let’s build some sand castles with these exercises and writing prompts.

Write With Limitations

The English language is huge, complicated, and — quite frankly — chaotic. Writing with self-imposed limitations can help you create novel and inventive pieces.

What does “limitations” mean in this context? Basically, force yourself not to use certain words, descriptions, or figures of speech. Some writing exercises using limitations include the following:

• Write without using adverbs or adjectives.
• Write without using the passive voice – no “being verbs” whatsoever. (Also called “E-Prime” writing.)
• Write a story without using a common letter –  just like Ernest Vincent Wright did .
• Write a poem where each line has six words.
• Write without using any pronouns.

Among exercises to improve writing skills, writing with limitations has the clearest benefits. This practice challenges your brain to think about language productively. Additionally, these limitations force you to use unconventional language – which, in turn, makes you write with lucidity, avidity, and invention.

Freewriting & Stream of Consciousness

What do you do when the words just don’t come out? How can you write better if you can’t seem to write at all? One of the best poetry exercises, as well as writing exercises in general, is to start your day by freewriting.

Freewriting , also known as “stream of consciousness writing,” involves writing your thoughts down the moment they come. There’s no filtering what you write, and no controlling what you think: topicality, style, and continuity are wholly unnecessary in the freewriting process. While the idea of freewriting seems easy, it’s much harder than you think – examining your thoughts without controlling them takes a while to master, and the impulse to control what you write isn’t easy to tame. Try these exercises to master the skill:

• Do a timed freewrite. Start with five minutes.
• Freewrite until you fill up the entirety of something – an envelope, a receipt, a postcard, etc.
• Freewrite after meditating.
• Freewrite off of the first word of today’s newspaper.

Among daily writing exercises, freewriting is one of the best writing exercises. Poets can use freewritten material as inspiration for their poetry. Prose writers can also find inspiration for future stories from the depths of their consciousnesses. Start your writing day with freewriting, and watch your creativity blossom.

Copy What You Read

Plagiarism is still off the table; however, you can learn a lot by paying attention to how other people write. This is what we call “reading like a writer.”

Reading like a writer means paying attention to the craft elements that make an excellent piece of literature work. Good writing requires different writing styles, figurative language, story structures, and/or poetry forms, as well as key word choice.

When you notice these craft elements, you can go ahead and emulate them in your own work. As a fiction writer , you might be drawn to the way Haruki Murakami weaves folklore into his stories, and decide to write a story like that yourself. Or, as a poet, you might be inspired by Terrance Hayes’ Golden Shovel form — enough so that you write a Golden Shovel yourself.

• Read a favorite poem, and write your own poem in the same poetic form.
• Blackout poetry: take another poem, cross out words you don’t want to use, circle words you do, and write a poem based on the circled words.
• Copy a single sentence from a favorite novel, and write a short-short story with it.

Among free writing exercises, this is a great way to learn from the best. The best kinds of exercises to improve writing skills involve building upon the current canon of works — as Isaac Newton said, you achieve something great by “standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Write From Different Perspectives

The conventional advice given to writers is to “write what you know.” We couldn’t disagree with that statement more. The best creative works force both the writer and the reader to consider new perspectives and learn something new; writing from a new point-of-view makes for a great exercise in expanding your creative limits.

Try these ideas as daily writing exercises:

• Write a story with the same plot, but with two or more perspectives. For example, you could write a lover’s quarrel from two different view points.
• Write from the point-of-view of a famous historical figure.
• Write a story or poem from the perspective of an object: a statue, a doll, a roomba, etc.
• Write from the perspective of a person you dislike.

While playing with perspective makes for a great fiction writing exercise , poets and essayists can do this too. Patricia Smith’s poem “Skinhead,” for example, is a persona piece written from the perspective of a white nationalist, but the poem clearly condemns the speaker’s beliefs.

Thus, perspective writing also works as a poetry exercise and an essay writing practice exercise . If you’re stuck in your own head, try writing in someone else’s!

Write Metaphor Lists

All creative writers need figurative language. While metaphors, similes, and synecdoches are more prominent in poetry , prose writers need the power of metaphor to truly engross their reader. Among both exercises to improve writing skills and fun writing exercises for adults, writing metaphor lists is one of the best writing exercises out there.

A metaphor list is simple. On a notebook, create two columns. In one column, write down only concrete nouns. Things like a pillow, a tree, a cat, a cloud, and anything that can be perceived with one of the five senses.

In the other list, write down only abstract ideas. Things like love, hate, war, peace, justice, closure, and reconciliation — anything that is conceptual and cannot be directly perceived.

Now, choose a random noun and a random concept, and create a metaphor or simile with them. Delve into the metaphor and explain the comparison. For example, you might say “Love is like a pillow — it can comfort, or it can smother.”

Once you’ve mastered the metaphor list, you can try the following ideas to challenge yourself:

• Create a coherent poem out of your metaphor list.
• Turn your metaphor list into a short story.
• Try making lists with a different figurative language device, such as personification, pathetic fallacy, or metonymy.

Any free creative writing exercise that focuses on figurative language can aid your writing immensely, as it helps writers add insight and emotionality to their work. This is an especially great creative writing exercise for beginners as they learn the elements of style and language.

Daily Journaling

Of course, the best way to improve your creative writing skills is simply to write every day. Keeping a daily journal is a great way to exercise your writing mind. By sitting down with your personal observations and writing without an agenda or audience, a daily writing practice  remains one of the best writing exercises , regardless of your genre or level of expertise.

Consider these ideas for your daily journal:

• Track your mood and emotions throughout the day. Write those emotions in metaphor — avoid commonplace adjectives and nouns.
• Write about your day from the second- or third-person.
• Journal your day in verse. Use stanzas, line breaks, and figurative language.
• Write about your day backwards.
• Write about your day using Freytag’s pyramid . Build up to a meaningful climax, even if nothing significant seemed to happen today.

Learn more about keeping a journal here:

How to Start Journaling: Practical Advice on How to Journal Daily

Writing Exercises: Have Fun with Them!

Many of these writing exercises might feel challenging at first—and that’s a good thing! You will unlock new ideas and writing strengths by struggling through these creative challenges. The main point is to have fun with them and use them to explore within your writing, without indulging too many monologues from your inner critic.

Are you looking for more exercises to improve your writing skills? Our instructors can offer prompts, illuminating lectures, one-to-one feedback, and more to help you improve your craft. Check out our upcoming creative writing courses , and let’s put these skills to practice.

Sean Glatch

Thank you for this. I’ve been stuck for months—more than that, actually, and you’d think that a pandemic stay-at-home would be the perfect time to do some writing. But no. I’m as stuck as ever. In fact, the only time I seem able to write consistently and well is when I’m taking one of your classes! I’m still saving my pennies, but these exercises will hopefully get me writing in the meantime. Thanks again!

The Real Person!

Hi Kathy, I’m glad to hear some of these tips might spark your creativity 🙂 I feel the same way, I was hoping the stay-at-home order might spark some creativity, but we shouldn’t push ourselves too hard – especially in the midst of a crisis.

The best part about writing: all you have to do is try, and you’ve already succeeded. Good luck on your writing endeavors!

Bravo….!What a great piece! Honestly I learnt a lot here!

I picked interest in poetry just a week ago after reading a beautiful piece which captivated my mind into the world of writing. I’d love to write great poems but I don’t know anything about poetry, I need a coach, a motivator and an inspiration to be able to do this. This piece really helped me but I will appreciate some more tips and help from you or anyone else willing to help, I am really fervid about this.

Hi Anthony,

Thanks for your comment! I’m so excited for you to start your journey with poetry. We have more advice for poetry writing at the articles under this link: https://writers.com/category/poetry

Additionally, you might be interested in two of our upcoming poetry courses: Poetry Workshop and How to Craft a Poem .

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at [email protected] . Many thanks, and happy writing!

[…] 24 Best Writing Exercises to Become a Better Writer | writers.com  […]

Hi, kinsey there. Thanks for giving information. it is a very informative blog and i appreciate your effort to write a blog I am also a writer and i like these type of blogs everyone takes more knowledge to check out my essay writing website

As a writer, I often struggle to break free from the chains of writer’s block, but this blog has gifted me with a map of inspiration to navigate through those creative storms. It’s like being handed a box of enchanted writing exercises

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40 Best Essays of All Time (Including Links & Writing Tips)

I had little money (buying forty collections of essays was out of the question) so I’ve found them online instead. I’ve hacked through piles of them, and finally, I’ve found the great ones. Now I want to share the whole list with you (with the addition of my notes about writing). Each item on the list has a direct link to the essay, so please click away and indulge yourself. Also, next to each essay, there’s an image of the book that contains the original work.

About this essay list:

40 best essays of all time (with links and writing tips), 1. david sedaris – laugh, kookaburra, writing tips from the essay:, 2. charles d’ambrosio – documents, 3. e. b. white – once more to the lake, 4. zadie smith – fail better, 5. virginia woolf – death of the moth, 6. meghan daum – my misspent youth.

Many of us, at some point or another, dream about living in New York. Meghan Daum’s take on the subject differs slightly from what you might expect. There’s no glamour, no Broadway shows, and no fancy restaurants. Instead, there’s the sullen reality of living in one of the most expensive cities in the world. You’ll get all the juicy details about credit cards, overdue payments, and scrambling for survival. It’s a word of warning. But it’s also a great story about shattered fantasies of living in a big city. Word on the street is: “You ain’t promised mañana in the rotten manzana.”

7. Roger Ebert – Go Gentle Into That Good Night

8. george orwell – shooting an elephant.

Even after one reading, you’ll remember this one for years. The story, set in British Burma, is about shooting an elephant (it’s not for the squeamish). It’s also the most powerful denunciation of colonialism ever put into writing. Orwell, apparently a free representative of British rule, feels to be nothing more than a puppet succumbing to the whim of the mob.

9. George Orwell – A Hanging

10. christopher hitchens – assassins of the mind.

In one of the greatest essays written in defense of free speech, Christopher Hitchens shares many examples of how modern media kneel to the explicit threats of violence posed by Islamic extremists. He recounts the story of his friend, Salman Rushdie, author of Satanic Verses who, for many years, had to watch over his shoulder because of the fatwa of Ayatollah Khomeini. With his usual wit, Hitchens shares various examples of people who died because of their opinions and of editors who refuse to publish anything related to Islam because of fear (and it was written long before the Charlie Hebdo massacre). After reading the essay, you realize that freedom of expression is one of the most precious things we have and that we have to fight for it. I highly recommend all essay collections penned by Hitchens, especially the ones written for Vanity Fair.

11. Christopher Hitchens – The New Commandments

12. phillip lopate – against joie de vivre.

While reading this fantastic essay, this quote from Slavoj Žižek kept coming back to me: “I think that the only life of deep satisfaction is a life of eternal struggle, especially struggle with oneself. If you want to remain happy, just remain stupid. Authentic masters are never happy; happiness is a category of slaves”. I can bear the onus of happiness or joie de vivre for some time. But this force enables me to get free and wallow in the sweet feelings of melancholy and nostalgia. By reading this work of Lopate, you’ll enter into the world of an intelligent man who finds most social rituals a drag. It’s worth exploring.

13. Philip Larkin – The Pleasure Principle

14. sigmund freud – thoughts for the times on war and death.

This essay reveals Freud’s disillusionment with the whole project of Western civilization. How the peaceful European countries could engage in a war that would eventually cost over 17 million lives? What stirs people to kill each other? Is it their nature, or are they puppets of imperial forces with agendas of their own? From the perspective of time, this work by Freud doesn’t seem to be fully accurate. Even so, it’s well worth your time.

15. Zadie Smith – Some Notes on Attunement

“You are privy to a great becoming, but you recognize nothing” – Francis Dolarhyde. This one is about the elusiveness of change occurring within you. For Zadie, it was hard to attune to the vibes of Joni Mitchell – especially her Blue album. But eventually, she grew up to appreciate her genius, and all the other things changed as well. This top essay is all about the relationship between humans, and art. We shouldn’t like art because we’re supposed to. We should like it because it has an instantaneous, emotional effect on us. Although, according to Stansfield (Gary Oldman) in Léon, liking Beethoven is rather mandatory.

16. Annie Dillard – Total Eclipse

My imagination was always stirred by the scene of the solar eclipse in Pharaoh, by Boleslaw Prus. I wondered about the shock of the disoriented crowd when they saw how their ruler could switch off the light. Getting immersed in this essay by Annie Dillard has a similar effect. It produces amazement and some kind of primeval fear. It’s not only the environment that changes; it’s your mind and the perception of the world. After the eclipse, nothing is going to be the same again.

17. Édouard Levé – When I Look at a Strawberry, I Think of a Tongue

This suicidally beautiful essay will teach you a lot about the appreciation of life and the struggle with mental illness. It’s a collection of personal, apparently unrelated thoughts that show us the rich interior of the author. You look at the real-time thoughts of another person, and then recognize the same patterns within yourself… It sounds like a confession of a person who’s about to take their life, and it’s striking in its originality.

18. Gloria E. Anzaldúa – How to Tame a Wild Tongue

19. kurt vonnegut – dispatch from a man without a country.

In terms of style, this essay is flawless. It’s simple, conversational, humorous, and yet, full of wisdom. And when Vonnegut becomes a teacher and draws an axis of “beginning – end”, and, “good fortune – bad fortune” to explain literature, it becomes outright hilarious. It’s hard to find an author with such a down-to-earth approach. He doesn’t need to get intellectual to prove a point. And the point could be summed up by the quote from Great Expectations – “On the Rampage, Pip, and off the Rampage, Pip – such is Life!”

20. Mary Ruefle – On Fear

Most psychologists and gurus agree that fear is the greatest enemy of success or any creative activity. It’s programmed into our minds to keep us away from imaginary harm. Mary Ruefle takes on this basic human emotion with flair. She explores fear from so many angles (especially in the world of poetry-writing) that at the end of this personal essay, you will look at it, dissect it, untangle it, and hopefully be able to say “f**k you” the next time your brain is trying to stop you.

21. Susan Sontag – Against Interpretation

In this highly intellectual essay, Sontag fights for art and its interpretation. It’s a great lesson, especially for critics and interpreters who endlessly chew on works that simply defy interpretation. Why don’t we just leave the art alone? I always hated it when at school they asked me: “What did the author have in mind when he did X or Y?” Iēsous Pantocrator! Hell if I know! I will judge it through my subjective experience!

22. Nora Ephron – A Few Words About Breasts

This is a heartwarming, coming-of-age story about a young girl who waits in vain for her breasts to grow. It’s simply a humorous and pleasurable read. The size of breasts is a big deal for women. If you’re a man, you may peek into the mind of a woman and learn many interesting things. If you’re a woman, maybe you’ll be able to relate and at last, be at peace with your bosom.

23. Carl Sagan – Does Truth Matter – Science, Pseudoscience, and Civilization

24. paul graham – how to do what you love.

How To Do What You Love should be read by every college student and young adult. The Internet is flooded with a large number of articles and videos that are supposed to tell you what to do with your life. Most of them are worthless, but this one is different. It’s sincere, and there’s no hidden agenda behind it. There’s so much we take for granted – what we study, where we work, what we do in our free time… Surely we have another two hundred years to figure it out, right? Life’s too short to be so naïve. Please, read the essay and let it help you gain fulfillment from your work.

25. John Jeremiah Sullivan – Mister Lytle

A young, aspiring writer is about to become a nurse of a fading writer – Mister Lytle (Andrew Nelson Lytle), and there will be trouble. This essay by Sullivan is probably my favorite one from the whole list. The amount of beautiful sentences it contains is just overwhelming. But that’s just a part of its charm. It also takes you to the Old South which has an incredible atmosphere. It’s grim and tawny but you want to stay there for a while.

26. Joan Didion – On Self Respect

Normally, with that title, you would expect some straightforward advice about how to improve your character and get on with your goddamn life – but not from Joan Didion. From the very beginning, you can feel the depth of her thinking, and the unmistakable style of a true woman who’s been hurt. You can learn more from this essay than from whole books about self-improvement . It reminds me of the scene from True Detective, where Frank Semyon tells Ray Velcoro to “own it” after he realizes he killed the wrong man all these years ago. I guess we all have to “own it”, recognize our mistakes, and move forward sometimes.

27. Susan Sontag – Notes on Camp

I’ve never read anything so thorough and lucid about an artistic current. After reading this essay, you will know what camp is. But not only that – you will learn about so many artists you’ve never heard of. You will follow their traces and go to places where you’ve never been before. You will vastly increase your appreciation of art. It’s interesting how something written as a list could be so amazing. All the listicles we usually see on the web simply cannot compare with it.

28. Ralph Waldo Emerson – Self-Reliance

29. david foster wallace – consider the lobster.

When you want simple field notes about a food festival, you needn’t send there the formidable David Foster Wallace. He sees right through the hypocrisy and cruelty behind killing hundreds of thousands of innocent lobsters – by boiling them alive. This essay uncovers some of the worst traits of modern American people. There are no apologies or hedging one’s bets. There’s just plain truth that stabs you in the eye like a lobster claw. After reading this essay, you may reconsider the whole animal-eating business.

30. David Foster Wallace – The Nature of the Fun

The famous novelist and author of the most powerful commencement speech ever done is going to tell you about the joys and sorrows of writing a work of fiction. It’s like taking care of a mutant child that constantly oozes smelly liquids. But you love that child and you want others to love it too. It’s a very humorous account of what it means to be an author. If you ever plan to write a novel, you should read that one. And the story about the Chinese farmer is just priceless.

31. Margaret Atwood – Attitude

This is not an essay per se, but I included it on the list for the sake of variety. It was delivered as a commencement speech at The University of Toronto, and it’s about keeping the right attitude. Soon after leaving university, most graduates have to forget about safety, parties, and travel and start a new life – one filled with a painful routine that will last until they drop. Atwood says that you don’t have to accept that. You can choose how you react to everything that happens to you (and you don’t have to stay in that dead-end job for the rest of your days).

32. Jo Ann Beard – The Fourth State of Matter

Read that one as soon as possible. It’s one of the most masterful and impactful essays you’ll ever read. It’s like a good horror – a slow build-up, and then your jaw drops to the ground. To summarize the story would be to spoil it, so I recommend that you just dig in and devour this essay in one sitting. It’s a perfect example of “show, don’t tell” writing, where the actions of characters are enough to create the right effect. No need for flowery adjectives here.

33. Terence McKenna – Tryptamine Hallucinogens and Consciousness

34. eudora welty – the little store.

By reading this little-known essay, you will be transported into the world of the old American South. It’s a remembrance of trips to the little store in a little town. It’s warm and straightforward, and when you read it, you feel like a child once more. All these beautiful memories live inside of us. They lay somewhere deep in our minds, hidden from sight. The work by Eudora Welty is an attempt to uncover some of them and let you get reacquainted with some smells and tastes of the past.

35. John McPhee – The Search for Marvin Gardens

The Search for Marvin Gardens contains many layers of meaning. It’s a story about a Monopoly championship, but also, it’s the author’s search for the lost streets visible on the board of the famous board game. It also presents a historical perspective on the rise and fall of civilizations, and on Atlantic City, which once was a lively place, and then, slowly declined, the streets filled with dirt and broken windows.

36. Maxine Hong Kingston – No Name Woman

A dead body at the bottom of the well makes for a beautiful literary device. The first line of Orhan Pamuk’s novel My Name Is Red delivers it perfectly: “I am nothing but a corpse now, a body at the bottom of a well”. There’s something creepy about the idea of the well. Just think about the “It puts the lotion in the basket” scene from The Silence of the Lambs. In the first paragraph of Kingston’s essay, we learn about a suicide committed by uncommon means of jumping into the well. But this time it’s a real story. Who was this woman? Why did she do it? Read the essay.

37. Joan Didion – On Keeping A Notebook

38. joan didion – goodbye to all that, 39. george orwell – reflections on gandhi, 40. george orwell – politics and the english language, other essays you may find interesting, oliver sacks – on libraries.

One of the greatest contributors to the knowledge about the human mind, Oliver Sacks meditates on the value of libraries and his love of books.

Noam Chomsky – The Responsibility of Intellectuals

Sam harris – the riddle of the gun.

Sam Harris, now a famous philosopher and neuroscientist, takes on the problem of gun control in the United States. His thoughts are clear of prejudice. After reading this, you’ll appreciate the value of logical discourse overheated, irrational debate that more often than not has real implications on policy.

Tim Ferriss – Some Practical Thoughts on Suicide

Edward said – reflections on exile.

The life of Edward Said was a truly fascinating one. Born in Jerusalem, he lived between Palestine and Egypt and finally settled down in the United States, where he completed his most famous work – Orientalism. In this essay, he shares his thoughts about what it means to be in exile.

Richard Feynman – It’s as Simple as One, Two, Three…

Rabindranath tagore – the religion of the forest, richard dawkins – letter to his 10-year-old daughter.

Every father should be able to articulate his philosophy of life to his children. With this letter that’s similar to what you find in the Paris Review essays , the famed atheist and defender of reason, Richard Dawkins, does exactly that. It’s beautifully written and stresses the importance of looking at evidence when we’re trying to make sense of the world.

Albert Camus – The Minotaur (or, The Stop In Oran)

Koty neelis – 21 incredible life lessons from anthony bourdain.

I included it as the last one because it’s not really an essay, but I just had to put it somewhere. In this listicle, you’ll find the 21 most original thoughts of the high-profile cook, writer, and TV host, Anthony Bourdain. Some of them are shocking, others are funny, but they’re all worth checking out.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca – On the Shortness of Life

Bertrand russell – in praise of idleness, james baldwin – stranger in the village.

It’s an essay on the author’s experiences as an African-American in a Swiss village, exploring race, identity, and alienation while highlighting the complexities of racial dynamics and the quest for belonging.

Bonus – More writing tips from two great books

The sense of style – by steven pinker, on writing well – by william zinsser, now immerse yourself in the world of essays, rafal reyzer.

Hey there, welcome to my blog! I'm a full-time entrepreneur building two companies, a digital marketer, and a content creator with 10+ years of experience. I started RafalReyzer.com to provide you with great tools and strategies you can use to become a proficient digital marketer and achieve freedom through online creativity. My site is a one-stop shop for digital marketers, and content enthusiasts who want to be independent, earn more money, and create beautiful things. Explore my journey here , and don't miss out on my AI Marketing Mastery online course.

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100 Creative Essay Topics

An amazing number of writers look for the best creative writing prompts on a daily basis. These could be college students who were asked to write a fictional or narrative essay, published authors looking for their next big idea, or young people who want to explore something inspiring in their future work. Creativity is everything, and the success of any venture depends on the topic you’ve chosen. In 2020, many popular prompts have lost their novelty.

Usual stories about the journey that turned into disaster when you got lost and your things were all stolen, a secretary falling in love with her boss, a ghost-hunting adventure — this is no longer as interesting topic as it was ten years ago. Now, people look for newer and fresher ideas, but the logical question occurs: where to find them? Regardless of why you need creative prompts, we’re prepared to share some of them!

In Search of Creative Essay Topic: Best Tips

Let’s imagine that you’re writing a creative story or an essay. All you need is to trigger your inspiration, but what if today, your fantasy decided to take a break? No worries: there are some tips that could be useful if you’re stuck with picking topics:

• Brainstorm with your friends or family.  Thinking by yourself could be great, but if it doesn’t work, use someone else’s input. Meet up with friends or classmates and bounce topic ideas back and forth between each other. Maybe one of them will offer stunning creative writing ideas you could use.
• Play a game.  Close your eyes. Walk somewhere carefully, turn around a couple of times, then open your eyes and look around. Choose the first thing or person and create topic or essay idea around it. Beginners could face some difficulties at first, but the main thing is practice! After several awkward stories, your skill level will increase.
• Look through online lists.  There are many cool topics you could find online. People have developed lists specifically to satisfy writers’ needs, so check some of them out in our list just below.

100 Unique Creative Essay Prompts

We prepared 100 different topic examples for your future essay. Read through them all or sort them by category — maybe you’ll find something truly inspiring.

Extended Creative Essay Topics on Social Issues

Small tragedies are everywhere, wherever we look. A woman who smiles tiredly could be barely holding back her tears. A running girl is trying to make it home in time to protect her brother from their drunk uncle. Here are some similar ideas.

• Addiction : Daughter took her mother to live with her, but it turned out that the woman has serious psychological issues. She’s addicted to alcohol and she keeps bringing rubbish from streets into her room. The story of love and pain ensue.
• Euthanasia : Person is dying slowly and they ask their nurse for euthanasia. The laws forbid it, though, and the nurse is getting more and more torn about letting the patient suffer or following the law.
• World Chaos : Due to the deadly virus that spread all over the planet, no medicine is available. Character struggles with accepting the idea of this new world and its cruel rules.
• Bullying : The bullied girl gets fed up with the world around her, so she takes actions to ensure that nothing and no one can ever hurt her again.
• Kindness : The lonely woman has more money than she could ever spend. She decides that doing kind things is the only validation she can find, so she starts trying to make all people she meets happy.
• Gossip : Two young men dream about taking part in a reality show, but when it happens, they understand how many ugly lies are beneath it.
• Stalking : Man is being stalked by a woman, but no one takes him seriously… until it is too late.
• Indifference : A bird is lying in a puddle, dying, as people pass by with no care. Then, a girl notices it, and she takes it home to nurse it back to health.
• Discrimination : Young girl thinks she is aromantic and asexual, but her family and friends are all convinced that she just hasn’t found the right person yet.
• Harassment : Old but enthusiastic employee starts a new job, and he doesn’t understand why his boss hates him & tries to humiliate him at every turn… until he suddenly remembers about their shared past.

Creative Fantasy Essay Ideas

Some of the best creative writing assignments fall into fantasy category.

• World Peace : Something happened that resulted in peace all over the world. People are happy, animals are healthy, and there is no anger or hatred left. But something is not right, and slowly, unexpected problems begin to emerge.
• Prophesies : A woman named Julia desperately wants to become the president. She learns of the prophecy claiming that her country will be saved by the woman, but the problem is, the prophecy woman’s name is Hannah. Determined to make herself fit, Julia officially changes her name.
• Reincarnation : Two people in love keep being reborn. One of them remembers everything, but another one remains ignorant.
• Soulmates : People dream about their soulmates even before they meet them. Character A meets Character B, but while A is happy, B prefers to ignore him.
• World End : Terrible monsters are crawling all over the planet. The man not interested in survival survives, but when he is saddled with an orphaned child, his life suddenly gains new meaning.
• Time of Death : People know how soon they’ll die from the moment of their birth. Some of them accept it; others fight it.
• Secrets Exposed : Woman can tell people’s secrets just by looking at them. Sometimes it’s a blessing; other times, it is a curse.
• Divine Punishment:  Psychopath loses one of his senses every time he acts on his dark impulses.
• Forever and Ever : Character lives forever. At first, it was exciting, but now it is weighing heavily on them.
• Predictions : Whatever prediction this person makes, it comes true. Can they resist such terrible power?

Fiction Topics

How about creative writing topics in the genre of monster hunting or dark romance? Many writers find it fascinating because of the challenge involved. Here are some good prompts.

• Serial Killer : After hunting numerous victims down, a killer is stopped short by a red-haired girl he sees. He begins to stalk her, and in this process, he falls in love.
• Beloved Pet : Imagine you’re a pet living in the family who loves and coddles you. How does that feel?
• Unhealthy Relationship : Two narcissists hurt each other, and yet they can’t live without each other.
• Complex Relationship : Character A destroyed the life of Character B’s parents. Years later, they fall in love.
• Age Difference : Being in love with someone older hurts.
• Social Difference : He is rich, she is not. He’s ready to ignore the difference, but she isn’t.
• Taboo : An orphaned boy is adopted by new doting guardian, yet the feelings he develops for them are far from appropriate.
• Abduction : Two girls are abducted during New Year. They don’t know why they were taken, but gradually, they realize that they have a chance to start the whole new life.
• Unexpected Bonding : Two students are stuck in detention for fighting each other. But feelings start growing before they know it.
• Beauty : She was the definition of beauty, yet the more she loved, the more her beauty was destroyed.
• Toys : Child is sure her toys are dancing at night.
• In a Movie : Boy falls into the universe of his favorite movie.
• Rocks : You’re the rock that existed for centuries. What do you see?
• Speaking with animals:  The day you started understanding your pet.
• Love Hurts:  It causes physical pain.

Creative Journal Prompts for Essays

Basing your ideas on notes in journals is both creative and realistic.

• Character lost in the forest is trying to survive by writing.
• A journal is found on an empty island.
• From first love to disillusionment.
• Watching seasons change.
• Saving up for an expensive purchase.
• An imagined year of life day by day.
• Message to your future self.
• Description of nightmares.
• Every message sent to you on Facebook.
• Observing your love interest.
• Describing every hobby you ever had.
• Finding yourself in the past & writing about it.
• 5 awkward speeches.
• Watching your child grow.
• List what you’d buy if you had a million dollars.

Creative Humor Essays Topics

If you have great humor, take a look at these fun creative writing prompts.

• Write a tragedy made of random sentences from your online messages.
• Meeting your real muse: awkwardness ensues.
• Hiding your golden finger from everyone to avoid turning them into gold.
• Love letter for the first person you see.
• Meeting TV character.
• Interview that goes very wrong.
• The most shameful moment from your life.
• Stealing a painting & finding out it’s a copy.
• Being accidentally turned into a Barbie.
• Write short story where every word starts with the same letter.

Creative Essays Topics About Death

Death is painful, but it gives birth to many ideas for creative writing. Your essay will be engaging with these topics:

• Losing the loved one never gets easier.
• Keeping ashes of the deceased beloved close.
• Characters realize they are doomed to die every day.
• Character is preparing to commit suicide and is saying goodbye to family.
• A bloodthirsty creatures entices people to kill themselves.
• Speech on the grandfather’s funeral.
• Living in an empty apartment where happy voices of a family can still be heard.
• Every loss feels like dying: family, friends, pets.
• Character embraces death and cries happy tears upon being reunited with people they loved.
• Character gets tired of living and tries to die & discovers they are immortal.

Health and Medicine

Healthcare could be a category with lots of creative writing prompts for adults. Nail your essay with one of this topics.

• OCD woman tries to make sense of her life.
• Man with amnesia starts each day as a new life.
• A ghost haunts the hospital for a decade and observes what they see.
• Each time this girl recovers from panic attack, she feels like she was reborn.
• Create unique disease for your character & describe their life.
• Narrator reflects whether it’s better to live with pain or not live at all.
• A surgeon describes her surgeries & acknowledges she needs nothing else.
• A paranoid patient is convinced he’s dying and refuses to listen to doctors.
• The blind person seeing colors for the first time.
• Person fears being kidnapped & looks for poison just in case.

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Creative Essays Ideas About Dreams

Our dreams are a mix of reality and fantasy. These writing prompts for creative writing reflect it.

• Mother dreams of reuniting with her missing child. Years later, her dreams is realized.
• What you dreamed about yesterday will come true tomorrow.
• Contacting people through dreams.
• As soon as you have a dream, you know the opposite will happen in reality.
• A killer learned how to kill people via dreams.
• A person’s biggest dream is about realizing what their dream is.
• Having dreams costs money. Who will agree to have them?
• Only people who share dreams are allowed to get married.
• Life is fair: happy people only have nightmares while unhappy people have happy dreams.
• Cure against dreams: who would take it?

Creative Education Topics

A million creative writing essays topics could be based on education.

• Story of how time in college was the happiest in one’s life.
• A bully falling in love with their victim and trying to earn their forgiveness.
• What character sacrificed in order to afford tuition.
• After all she has been through, she finally got into the university of her dreams… and she hates it.
• A heartbreaking choice between working & studying.
• A teacher saying to a successful student: “I haven’t graduated with honors, so you won’t either.”
• School and I: it was hatred from the first sight.
• The time I fell asleep during my lesson.
• Having a crush on your teacher & coming to realize why it’s wrong.
• You are the director at made-up university: how would it look like?

Have Fun Writing With Creative College Essay Topics

If you’re having a bad day and cannot summon even a spark of creativity, we’re here to help you! Use an idea we offered above — just give it a good title. If you like it, then it is all that matters — you’ve already crossed half of the way toward absolute success. In case having a prompt is not enough and you still feel no inspiration, you could always leave it to us. 

We have amazing specialists whose creativity knows no boundaries: they could write a short fictional story, craft a quirky essay, or develop some personalized creative prompts for you. Share your request with us, supply us with all details, and we’ll make sure to fulfill every one of them. There is nothing wrong with asking for help, and we are always happy to provide it.

Can’t come up with a topic for you paper? We’ve prepared a collection of essay topics for you

Want to write a winning essay but lack experience? Browse our free essay samples

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25 Creative Writing Prompts

by Melissa Donovan | Oct 23, 2018 | Creative Writing Prompts | 236 comments

Twenty-five creative writing prompts to inspire and motivate you.

Don’t you just hate writer’s block? Some say it’s a disease that only creative workers succumb to. Some say it’s a curse. Others argue that it doesn’t exist at all. But just about everyone has been there–sitting in front of a blank screen, fingers itching to create a masterpiece. And nothing happens.

For me, the most bizarre thing about writer’s block is that it strikes randomly. Most of the time, I’m overwhelmed with more ideas than I can possibly write about. But then I’ll sit down to write and my mind goes blank. Sure, I flip through my notebooks and review all the ideas I’ve stockpiled, but nothing feels right. I want something fresh. I need a new angle.

To help break through this block, I started turning to creative writing prompts. And then I started making up my own prompts. The result:  1200 Creative Writing Prompts ,  a book designed to spark ideas for writers.

Creative Writing Prompts

Today I’d like to share a mash-up of creative writing prompts, all of which come from  1200 Creative Writing Prompts . There are no rules. Write a poem. Write a short story. Write an essay. Aim for a hundred words or aim for a hundred thousand. Just start writing, and have fun.

• The protagonist is digging in the garden and finds a fist-sized nugget of gold. There’s more where that came from in this hilarious story of sudden wealth.
• Write a poem about something ugly—war, fear, hate, or cruelty—but try to find the beauty (silver lining) in it or something good that comes out of it.
• An asteroid and a meteoroid collide near Earth, and fragments rain down onto the planet’s surface, wreaking havoc. Some of those fragments contain surprising elements: fossils that prove life exists elsewhere in the galaxy, for example.
• The story starts when a kid comes out of the school bathroom with toilet paper dangling from his or her waistband. Does someone step forward and whisper a polite word, or do the other kids make fun? What happens in this pivotal moment will drive the story and have a deep impact on the main character.
• Revisit your earliest memories of learning about faith, religion, or spirituality.
• Use all of the following words in a poem: bit, draw, flex, perilous, bubble, corner, rancid, pound, high, open.
• Write a poem about a first romantic (dare I say sexual?) experience or encounter.
• Write a personal essay describing an exotic animal you’d like to have as a pet.
• Silvery flakes drifted downward, glittering in the bright light of the harvest moon. The blackbird soared.
• Write a tongue-in-cheek, satirical tribute. Tell bad drivers, rude customers, and evil dictators how grateful you are for what they’ve done. Do it with a wink and a smile.
• Write a story about a detective solving a crime that was committed against his or her partner or a crime that his or her partner committed.
• Three children are sitting on a log near a stream. One of them looks up at the sky and says…
• There is a magic talisman that allows its keeper to read minds. It falls into the hands of a young politician.
• We’ve seen cute and cuddly dragons, mean and vicious dragons, and noble dragons. Write a story about a different kind of dragon.
• Use all of the following words in a poem: dash, hard, staple, billboard, part, circle, flattened.
• Write a story set in the distant future when humanity is at a fork in the evolutionary road. Some humans are evolving; others are not.
• The kids were raised on the mantra “Family is everything.” What happens when they find out their parents aren’t who they pretended to be? Will the family fall apart?
• Write a poem about one (or both) of your parents. It could be a tribute poem, but it doesn’t have to be.
• Turn ordinary animals into monsters that prey on humans: dog-sized rats, killer rabbits, or a pack of rabid mountain lions. Give the animals intelligence and set them loose.
• A twinkling eye can mean many things. Write a poem about a twinkle in someone’s eye.
• What determines an action or person as good or evil? Who gets to decide what or who is good or evil? Write a personal essay about it.
• Write a poem about your body.
• The protagonist is about to drift off to sleep only to be roused by the spontaneous memory of an embarrassing moment from his or her past.
• Write about the happiest day of your life.
• Use all of the following words in a poem: feast, fire, modify, squash, robbed, forgotten, understated.

Now It’s Your Turn

Did any of these prompts inspire you? Do you ever use creative writing prompts to ignite a writing session? Tell us what gets your pen moving by leaving a comment, and keep writing!

To get more prompts like these, pick up a copy of  1200 Creative Writing Prompts   today.

236 Comments

Melissa, Wow, there’s something about this list that feels like a lightbulb went off! There are times when I feel stuck, like ideas aren’t there. And this list really shines what can be…limitless possibilities!

26. If my life were a cartoon… 27. Pick two crayons at random. What thoughts/feelings do two color stir up in you?

Ah, I love the feeling of a light bulb illuminating my mind! Thanks for adding to the list!

what about… That spark which seemed like a star, when it approached closer, my lips went white and body shivering despite the fact I knew I was placed in a desert – by them- and the sun shone directly above my head. Then at a distance of 1m probably, I got the sight of…

Thanks for sharing these.

If you have children, visualize one of them running the house for a day.

That’s a good one. Kids running the house…how very Dr. Seuss! Cat in the Hat without the cat, hehee.

Ooh, great prompts! Thanks for sharing these!

Thanks! Glad you like them!

A day in the life of a doormat

The adventures of a shooting star

Making friends with my enemy

Ooh, interesting! Thanks, Fouzia.

Hi Melissa,

Bought 3 of your books. 1. 101 Creative Writing Excercises 2.10 Core Practices For Better Writing and 3. 1,200 Creative Writing Prompts.

I decided to start with 1,200 Creative Writing Prompts.

So far, I have written 4 stories from the prompts. I guess I want to enquire as to whether I need to go through each prompt. Thank you

Wow, Kevin, thanks for getting three of my books. I truly appreciate that. You can use the prompts in any way that is comfortable for you. No, you do not have to go through each and every prompt. I encourage you to skip around, flip through book, and find prompts that inspire. I hope you have fun with it! Thanks again.

When I took my creative writing class in college the instructor gave us a really good one to use if we couldn’t think of what to write. She said to write the word Remember 3 times and that would prompt something. The entire class tried it and it worked and I have used it several times since then!

I like the use of remember . There are a lot of words that help people when they can’t think of anything to write about. Maybe I should do a list of single-word prompts. Hmm…

Wow. I was COMPLETELY stuck and this brought back a great story for me to write about, though only faintly attached to any memory of mine. Thanks!

That’s great, Camille! Good luck with your story!

I like to use the question “what would happen if …. ”

What would happen if your husband retired and your kid left home and you’re getting older? -> ” Always Faithful”

What would happen if a person moved back home to care for a relative after decades of living far away? -> “The Way Home”

What would happen if a person who has been divorced and alone for a long time suddenly met the most perfect mate imaginable … but it turns out the person may not be what she appears to be? -> “Baiting and Fishing”

In a way, I think “What Would Happen If…” is my novelist version of my favorite childhood game, “Let’s pretend that…..”

“What if” is the best creative writing prompt ever! You can apply it to just about any situation. Just look at any movie, book, or even real life and start asking, “What if things happened a little differently?” or “What if this person made a different decision?” Asking these questions can take your writing in all kinds of new and interesting directions! It’s great fun.

I love these. Here’s one:

“She was drifting off to sleep when there was a sharp knock at the door . . . “

Ooh, I like that one.

Fabulous list. I’ve been brainstorming all morning with no luck, and so I came online and VOILA, here you are. Loved the list, especially 22.

I’ve created several interesting works using my personal favourite “things to do on a rainy day”. I usually write from the perspective of a child, but rarely myself as a child. This one just opens up so many possibilities for make beleive!

Thanks, Melanie! Glad this list helped you in a time of need. My favorite “things to do on a rainy day” story is The Cat in the Hat . Of course, it’s a “day when mom’s away” rather than a “rainy day,” but it’s pretty much the same idea. Keep writing!

these are very great… i got this one off of True Jackson VP.. spin around and the first thing you see will give you an idea..

i just did this and i saw flowers…

i’m writing about “you are walking through a field with your best friend.. you spot a flower and pick it up.. it gives you super powers…

Ah, a flower that gives one super powers. I love that idea! You should definitely run with it!

I love True Jackson VP! Cool that you got an idea from it! 🙂

You’re suggestion really helped! Im doing imaginative writing for homework and I was so stuck but I’ve found the right one now!!

That’s awesome, Grace! Keep writing.

ooh those are cool… how about: He cradled her, taking in all of her burdens as he swept her hair back from her face and stroked her cheek in a gentle calming motion.

I do creative writing as an A level so it would be cool to know if this starter is ok! ty xoxo

Catherine, I think that’s a great starter line, especially for a romantic story or poem! My only suggestion would be the part “gentle calming motion.” There might be one too many adjectives there. If you keep both adjectives, be sure to add a comma after the first one: “gentle, calming motion.” Nice job!

A young man attempts to pull a robbery of some kind on an older man. Things go drastically wrong for the young man. Either viewpoint!

Either viewpoint, or both, could work!

what if the old man was a retired super spy and the young robber is homeless and broke. he tells this to the old man and the man trains him to be a good spy and lets the young robber live with him. then the old man gets the young robber a job as a spy and then they both find out that the retired spy is the young robbers father and the mother ran away while she was pregnant to go be with some rich guy but the rich guy killed the mother and the young robber has been living on the streets since he was 10.

Heres a gorgeous one! Write a story in the POV of a flower being given from person 2 person.

Interesting!

Wow! These are great, thanks for putting these up. I’m 12 and I really want to be a novelist when I grow up. One of my favourites is: the empty glass. It’s a bit over-used but I think that it’s so versatile, it doesn’t matter if it’s popular because you can take it in so many different directions!

That’s great, Katie! You’re off to an early start. Just stay focused and passionate, and you’ll become a novelist if that’s what you truly want. Good luck to you!

Katie, It is never too young to start living your dreams. Don’t ever let anyone get you down. Keep on writing and believe in yourself that one day you will make it! Best of luck!

I couldn’t agree more, AJ!

I’m 11 and everyone thinks I am a good writer and I love to write so much!

That’s wonderful, Maria. Keep writing!

I’m 16 and i wrote a great alternate ending for an assignment in english, and i wrote a short christmas story on christmas eve, but now i just don’t know what to write about. i have ideas and i have been reading prompts that are good but i just don’t know.

Kristi, give the prompts a try. There are also lots of writing exercises that you can use to spark writing sessions when you’re feeling uninspired. The trick is to write something (anything) rather than sit around waiting for something to write about.

Hi! I am 14 and just wanted to do some creative writing, but could not think of anything to write about. Thank you so much for the ideas! I will definitely be using some.

You’re so welcome! Good luck with your writing!

I’m 14 and writing is my whole life. I recently started a blog with my friend, but she’s not a writer. She just inspires me with ideas and stuff. I love your site, Melissa. I check it almost every day. Your prompts and tips are so completely helpful! Thanks so much!

Thank you! I appreciate your kind words.

I’m fourteen, too, and writing is hard to juggle with school and everything else that’s going on. I know – such a teenager-y thing to say…but true nonetheless. I just wanted to say thank you for posting these prompts because they make for quick, satisfying writing that doesn’t end in frustration (at least, mostly). Thanks again!

Writing is hard to juggle at any age. It takes a lot of perseverance, but if you stick with it, you’ll succeed. Good luck to you, and keep on writing!

Im also fourteen and i love to write! i have won a national competition 2 years in a row and i never dreamed i would have won or anything but that just goes to show that youre never too young to write! Just keep believing in yourself and who knows where you might go!

I am thrilled when young people are so passionate about writing (or any craft, really). Congratulations on your success!

One good place to find good story prompts are the obituaries of a large newspaper. One true example: from the Arizona Republic years ago, an elderly gentleman got hit by a motorist one a late, rainy afternoon as he was crossing the street. He had been an immigrant from Norway, and had been a professor at ASU, and was retired and in his 80’s when he died. I have always imagined what his life had been, what he had experienced, etc.

Yes, newspapers are packed with story ideas!

Write a story from the perspective of a sock being separated from its twin in the laundry.

That would make a great children’s story.

a person went to the football stadium and was wearing manu shirt and came out with a barcalona shirt.why???

Well, I have no idea, but this certainly makes a good writing prompt!

I love these!! 😀 Here are a few I made: *Make up your own recipes for your favorite foods *Create your own list of idioms *Write stories of idioms literally happening *Write about something blue *What’s your idea of a perfect vacation? *List what you fear. pick a few and write how they came, why, and when you got the fear first *What would you say to an univited guest at your party *Draw a picture of the setting around you. Now look into your inner being. What do you truly feel? *Write from the point of view of a stack of paper waiting a few inches from the shredder *Her laugh broke the silence…

These are great! Thank you for adding them to the list.

By the way, I’m 11, love writing, and hope to publish fiction teen/children books one day

I wish you the best of luck! You have a head start, being such a young writer. Stick with it!

Lovarsnari,that’s kinda funny because l think the same thing! 🙂 My prob is that l start writing with great ideas,get stuck, and then start a new story/play….

same except that I’m 13 and mix my writing with my guitar playing and music

Well when i get stuck I like to think: What would I do if I were to die in a week? Once I picked everything and it turned quite an interesting story…

That’s a good one!

Hey I’m 14 years old and I love writing but I get writers block often and this really helped me. I love reading the ideas and other people’s ideas they are just very interesting. Number 19 seemed the most interesting to me and I’m almost done with my story. 🙂 thanks so much

Thanks, Violet. I often find that prompts and exercises can be used in different ways. You don’t always have to do the actual exercise. Sometimes, just reading through a book of exercises will generate ideas for a project I’m working on or help me understand a writing concept in a new way. Good luck with your story!

Hi Melissa 🙂 Last year i won junior writer of the year ( I’m 13) and I am entering this year as well and in the process of creating my first draft. I love your site and its wonderful, all-inclusive feel. So, here are my ideas for your list.

26. Post-War oppression & depression ( this was my winning topic last year – i wrote it from the perspective of a scarred war veterans’ emotionally abused child) I also commend you in your point concerning finding hope and light in darkness ( war, death, etc.) and i am going to write about that! Possibly with an Amish girl as the protagonist? thank you again for inspiring me. I also hope to be a great writer some day. Bee

Congratulations, Bee, and thanks for adding to these prompts. I wish you the best of luck in becoming a great writer. You are certainly well on your way!

POV of a toy sitting on a shelf in a toy store, hoping to be purchased.

your pet starts talking to you in perfect english and tells you what he/she really thinks of you…. what does he/she say?

Ha! That could be enlightening indeed!

I actually saw an animated short based on that premise (or something similar to it) and found it quite compelling. A great idea!

My contribution:

“When I look in the mirror, I don’t see what everyone else sees. What I see is…”

Nice! Thanks for adding this prompt, Nick.

My college English teacher gave my class this prompt. First Line: John closed his eyes. Last Line: It was a good day for the yellow crocuses. Anything in between. I easily made five pages with that prompt. Have fun guys.

Thanks for sharing that prompt, Jessy. It’s a good one.

Im a 17 year old living in the most secluded area of Kentucky, unfortunately. lol My dream is to pursue a career in filmmaking, my goal is to help people who are confused or unsure about life and what they want to do with their oppourtunity of life. I want people to think and find happiness in their lives by doing something they love. My idea of doing this came from being in a depressed state from the past few years as a teen and felt strong enough to overcome it without professional help which is progressing for the good. I found setting goals is a great strategy to stay focused and optimistic about life. I appreciate your time for reading this and if there is any advice you could influence me with id appreciate that as well. Thanks

It’s wonderful that you have set your sights on a clear career path at such a young age. Filmmaking is awesome! I sometimes wish I had taken up an interest in film or photography. The best advice I can offer is to never give up, stay focused, and pursue your goals with heart and soul. I would also advise studying film at college, if you can. The film industry is notoriously networked and you’ll benefit greatly by making friends and acquaintances who share your interest. Best of luck to you!

Thanks for taking the time to reply, it’s very much appreciated and yes im going to film school out in LA next year.

Hi! I am 13 and have been writing since I was 7 or younger, and I am in love with writing. I am a very dedicated author and I have finished books in the past (about 11 or 12) but now I can’t seem to get into any longer stories! I write more short stories now, but it’s not satisfying anymore…and then, when I come up with a new idea, it’s useless, and my brain gets all cluttered! Help!

It sounds like you’re having trouble staying focused. The first (and most important) thing that can help with that is to stay healthy: eat right, exercise, and get enough sleep. You may also need to break up your writing with other activities. Make sure you read regularly! For the time being, maybe you need to write short stories. I’m not sure you need to fight it.

thank you for the advice! 🙂

You are most welcome!

Hello 🙂 I am 17 and doing my HSC this year. I am attempting (unsuccessfully) to write a creative writing piece as practice for my exams, and thank you so much for these, they’re really helpful 🙂 I am not a writer (and never will be), but these have given me some great ideas that I can hopefully use to increase my writing skills for my exams. So thank you very much 🙂

You are very welcome, Emily, and best of luck on your exams.

I’ve found that this list, and peoples comments/ideas have been quite inspiring. I’m 21 and haven’t been in school for a few years and I have that desire to write, but never knew how to get started. I thank you all for these wonderful ideas and I’m hoping that writing will be a good outlet for me and my struggle with depression.

So really I’m just thanking you all 🙂

You’re welcome, Nicole, and thank you for joining in the discussion. Writing is a great way to work through emotions; I wish you the best of luck!

These are great!!!! My favourite starter would definetly have to be: “Sometimes a girl just has to run. Sometimes our feet take over. This was one of those times”

I think it holds a lot of suspense but it could also be happy and bright, like a sports day or carnival. Thanks for adding these, I am going to try to write a story for each one.

I’m not sure where that starter comes from, but it sounds good to me.

Hi! Thanks so much for these prompts. I especially like number two, because I feel like a little bit of positive thinking can go a long way. 🙂

I have a question, too, if you don’t mind.

What is your opinion on fanfictions? I know some creative writers don’t like them and feel they corrupt a series, while others think it’s a great creative exercise.

Thanks so much!

I think fan fiction is a great way for young and new writers to explore the craft. Some copyright holders are extremely strict about allowing fan fiction to be published. Others will actually develop and publish collections of fan fiction. There are also franchises in which fan fiction is encouraged. One of my all-time favorite writers, TV and film writer Damon Lindelof, said in a recent interview that he started out writing fan fiction. Now he’s writing for Ridley Scott and working on the Star Trek films as a fan-fic professional! It’s definitely an avenue worth pursuing if it interests you.

I’m fifteen and I want to write a book before the end of highschool. The problem is I can’t finish what I’ve started. I always find a “better” idea and write about that and the cycle begins again. Please help me!!!

The only way to finish what you’ve started is to simply finish it. When “better” ideas present themselves, make a note and file those ideas away for a future project. Part of being a writer involves developing self-discipline. I recommend setting up a reward system. For example, you have to work on the novel for 20 minutes before you can call or text your friends after school. Or you have to finish a scene before you go out to see a movie. These are self-imposed rewards, so you have to discipline yourself. Nobody else can do it for you.

You might also look into participating in NaNoWriMo. The timing is great because it starts in just a few weeks. That means you’ll have some time to prepare and check it out. Then you can write your novel in November, leaving plenty of time afterwards for you to clean it up (edit, proof, polish).

Finally, if you’re truly committed to writing, start looking at schools with good creative writing programs and plan to study at college. University instructors are quite helpful in teaching students self-discipline and good writing habits and practices.

Best of luck to you, Art!

Hi! Your prompts and the comments have really helped me! I can’t wait to start some stories from them:) Here are a couple that I’ve come up with: The Bell sounded. Workers froze in their places… Kay frowned as she opened her school locker after school. Down the hall, Alexis and Christine exchanged grins…

That’s great, Alyssa. Keep up the good work!

These are fantastic! I’m also 21 and have been out of school for awhile. I used to write all the time when I was in school but not so much these days. These ideas are really going to help once I get started writing again. I’m attempting to set a goal for myself. An hour a day, just writing whatever I want. Just to get me back in the habit.

Thank you so much!!!

One prompt my creative writing teacher in high school gave the class was “It was a smile that darkness could kill…”

That’s wonderful! An hour a day is enough to produce quite a bit of writing. I wish you the best of luck, Ashlee!

Obviously it is now 2011 haha, but these are great!! I have wanted to write a novel for quite some time but I can’t seem to get the creative juices flowing. So I set out on a quest across the World Wide Web and I am finding some amazing ideas!! Thank you so much for this website I look forward to writing now instead of despairing of that dreaded cursor blinking me to oblivion!!

I hope your quest for inspiration is fruitful! And keep writing!

I’ve just been inspired to start a personal blog full of my own creative writing, with the assistance of some of these wonderful writing prompts (both yours, and the ones left in the comment section). Thank you, thank you, thank you.

That’s wonderful! Blogs have been a boon for writers, and I think more writers should take advantage of the technology. I wish you the best of luck with your blog, Emily.

Hi, I’m 17. I started creative writing when I was about 10 or 11. I found myself writing more and more when I was troubled a few years back, so it was good stress relief for me. But now that I’m busy with college, I realize that I haven’t been writing as much as I used to. I reread some of my old work and I thought “Hey, why not? I’ll give it a try for old times’ sake.”

I was a bit confused with where to start off, but these prompts really got my creative juices flowing. After I post this comment, I think I’ll try one or two of them and see how far it takes me. Thanks for the inspiration. 🙂

I’m so glad that these prompts inspired you, Christi. I think many writers go through phases when they drift away from the craft, but when you’re called back to it, that might be a sign. Follow it and keep writing!

In my junior year of high school, we were given a creative writing assignment to expand on this sentence:

“A person walked into the room, looked around, sat down, and ate.”

That’s a great prompt. It would certainly be interesting to see what a whole classroom of people come up with. I imagine each piece of writing would be quite different from the others, even though they are all based on the same premise. Thanks for sharing it, Alli.

Here’s a prompt! Prop open the door. I can actually see my breathe tonight. But that doesnt mean im breathing.

Ooh, sounds like a zombie, robot, or vampire story.

These writing ideas helped a lot thank you. I really want to go to a creative writing school when I get older. One idea which I just came up with is Write from the perspective of your fish.( does each fish have there own personality, how does each fish react to the different members of the house, what is it like to be a fish) 😛 I hope you like I write often mostly stories with a more poetic base, but once in a while i will feel in the mood to write some thing different. Oh also try continuing after this sentence. Its eyes gleamed pitch black death, creeping into imaginary, azure skies. now continue it :3

Thanks for sharing your prompt, Samantha, and good luck to you!

For school, I have to enter a creative writing competition. I have two days and i was really panicking but then i found this website! It really helped! Thankyou Writing Forward!!

Hannah, I’m so glad you found help and inspiration here. Thank you!

Lately I’ve been trying to write a lot like Sarah Dessen! Were doing stories in class and I’m doin one about a girl who runs away, it starts out “I’m on the run! I don’t know where I’m going or where I’ll end up, but I’m not turning back!” 🙂 Do you like it?

I do like your opening line. It certainly grabs the reader’s attention and rouses curiosity. Nice job.

Thank you so much!!!! This got me over my terrible case of writer’s block. But now my muse is back!

Wow, thanks, Maria. That’s awesome!

I just want to say that this list of prompts has inspired me to take on a challenge of using one every day up until xmas on my blog… or at least until the end of the month!

Thanks for the great list 🙂

That’s awesome, Julz. Good luck with your December writing!

I haven’t tried it yet, but I think a fun way to mix these up even more would be to choose one of these, then draw the name of an author out of a hat, then write that prompt in the style of that author. That would really stretch your creativity.

That’s an excellent exercise and would definitely be challenging. You’d have to be deeply familiar with the author’s voice.

I have found these prompts really helpful for the English lessons that I teach.

Many thanks.

That’s great, Cass. I love the idea of these prompts helping students with reading and writing.

i have learnt English as a second language…writing is my passion…this page is REALLY inspiring!thanks for evoking our creative faculties… i want to suggest some topics and the list goes as: 1The beast in me 2Daily journal of a pair of shoes which is in the process of its making 3What the world be if gender roles get changed 4What if i were in the shoes of my English teacher 5How things at the high school are going to be if the concept of beauty gets altered altogether 6It is said that writing is all about pouring your mind on a piece of paper but what it your pen literally starts articulating your thoughts and you end up writing EVERRRRYTHING(What consequences are you going to face)

Thanks for adding your ideas to these prompts!

I haven’t tried the prompts yet but I have always wanted to be a writer since I was eight years old. However ever since graduating and entering the real world I find my muse being choked to death by the responsibility at home. I’ve had to give up my dream of writing for the past two years. I tried taking it up again and was drawing a huge blank, but just by reading a few of these prompts I’ve felt my muse start to breathe. Thank you!

Hi Rochelle. I remember graduating and entering the real world, and I had a similar experience. All of a sudden I just didn’t have the time or inspiration. It took a while, but I adjusted and my creativity returned. I’m so glad you found these prompts helpful!

I found like 5 great writing prompts thank u so much

You are so welcome!

you thought dragoons unicorns and monsters didnt exist? think again! write story of your pet unicorn

That’s a cute idea!

Thank you for these, I am a writer waiting to hear if a publisher is going to publish my novel. Waiting is so hard and my mind has gone blank. These help to stir the jucies again. I’m hand writing them in a note book and taking them with me when I’m out, to write on the go. When I have to wait for a kid to get to the car I can write and not have to figure out how to start a story. So thank you. so much.

That’s awesome. What is it about being in a car or shower that makes us more creative? I always get ideas in those two locations!

thanks sooo much! those were super helfull! you have the most helpfull website ive found! and i’m a picky writer! THANKYOU!!!

Thanks, Anna.

here are some more ideas: you inherit 1 million dollars your backpack grows wings on the way to school a zombie invasion stikes your small/big town a kidnapper captures you … hope these help 🙂

Thanks, Ebony!

Hey! These prompts really helped and I can’t wait to use some 🙂 I have started with the one about twinklling eyes and turned it into a story about creatures similar to werewolves XD

Sounds interesting, Molly! Good luck with your story, and keep writing!

My English teacher says she doesn’t believe in writer’s block. I on the other hand am not so sure. Sometimes I sit in the afternoon and stare out the window, unable to come up with anything good but I find that ideas flow like crazy at two in the morning with a cup of coffee in my left hand. That’s always my best remedy, though writing prompts like these always help me get going. Thanks for sharing 🙂

Some prompts:

10 things I hate about… What’s the recipe for those wonderful _______ muffins you baked last night? (Try filling that blank with ‘unicorn’.)

I believe in writer’s block, but I think that it’s presented as being unable to write whereas usually it’s just a case of needing to work a little harder at writing. Sometimes, we need to stop procrastinating, stop trying to force our ideas, or we just need to allow ourselves to write badly for a while. I believe there are ideas everywhere; the trick is to keep ourselves open to them and be willing to explore them. Having said all that, writer’s block still sucks. I’m like you, Maluly, the ideas flow like crazy at two in the morning (no coffee required!).

i dont believe in writiers block.. i think its more like an exuse to hide what we really want to write or say. Like sometimes peoploe wonder if it will be good enough so they put it off or they dont want people who read it to know something.. its all about the way you look at it i guess. Write what you feel. Write whatever you want. I love writing but i find myself wondering will this be good enough? What would someone think if they read it? Maybe thats just me. no self esteem… but, low selfesteem is what keeps creativity hidden…. my advice.. to everyone is to just go for it. if its not good try again you’ll get better(:

I agree: just go for it.

Thanks for these! I definitely believe in writer’s block!! In fact, I am just emerging from what I like to call writer’s ‘droubt’, since it lasted at least a year. But I don’t think you need to be blocked to use prompts. They are great exercises and get you to try new ways of writing. And sometimes, when I get burned out with the story I’m currently writing, it helps to focus on something completely different for a while, and you can come back to it with fresh eyes. Here are some prompts that I came up with and they helped me out: 1) ‘It all started with the cat…’ 2) ‘Have you ever seen something out of the corner of your eye, but when you turned to look, found nothing there? You dismiss it as an illusion, a trick of the light. You’re wrong…’ 3) Write something from the perspective of a ghost. 4) Write something using the five senses EXCEPT sight (hearing, smell, touch, taste) 5) Instead of using first or third person, write with second person point-of-view (in other words, use ‘you’ instead of ‘he/she’ or ‘I’. Or try writing in present or even future tense, instead of past tense.

Oh yeah, and one more: 6) Write something from the perspective of the BAD guy, instead of the hero

I love when stories do this! Thanks for adding it, CJM.

These are excellent prompts, especially well suited for speculative fiction writers. My favorite is the prompt about seeing something out of the corner of your eye (that happens to me sometimes!). Thanks for adding these.

Here’s one for those of you who have pets What do your pets do when you and other inhabitants of your house are not at home?

Ooh, that’s a good one, Lily. That could be great for a children’s story!

Thank you SO much for these exciting writing prompts! They really inspire me. I have one idea for a prompt: Write about a conversation that you would have if were stuck in an elevator with a celebrity or famous book character.

You’re welcome, Arieda. I love your elevator prompt! You could also do it with characters from your novel as a test to see how each would behave in an elevator with a celebrity. That could tell you a lot about your characters. Good one!

Lovely ideas, both of these! Arieda, that prompt gave me a short story idea, one that I’m pretty excited about, and I’m definitely going to have to do that with all my characters now, Melissa. 🙂 I thought up another twist on this prompt that intrigues me: Your characters get stuck in an elevator with you, their author. How do they react when they discover who you are and that you control their destinies? What sort of conversations would you have? Would you like interacting with your character? Would your character like you?

Hannah, I love your prompt idea. What a fun writing exercise: The Character Meets the Author. That’s quite brilliant!

Thank you so much for these, I’m trying to write a book…and I’ve been at a stand still lately, so this will help me more than ever.

You’re welcome, Alexis. I’m glad you found these prompts helpful.

Hi Ms. Donovan! thank you so much for the writing prompts! i’ve been using them for all my english creative writing assignments. it’s been my dream to be a writer since i was little. although i find it hard to write mysteries. ironically it’s my favorite genre to read though. any advice on how to get started on a good mystery?

I myself haven’t written mysteries, although I have read a few. My suggestion would be to read as many mysteries as you can, and watch mystery films and television shows, so you thoroughly know your genre (you should still read other stuff too!). Study the greats and ideas will come to you!

Wow i have writers block i have my charecter but i dont know what the problem is…… help any good title ideas?

When I’m stuck and can’t come up with a character or a title, I just skip it. The important thing is to keep writing. You can always come back later and add names and titles. Here’s how I do it:

GIRL said that there was no way out but OLD LADY knew otherwise…

I use all caps for characters who don’t have names yet. Many writers use a “working title” as they are developing their project. A working title can be anything. It’s just temporary.

You’ll find that as you work on your project (and if you work around these little setbacks), ideas will come to you. Good luck!

Awesome post:) Thanks so much, really helped! have a great day! Peace-Jeff

Thanks, Jeff!

A prompt could be : She started to fall over and _________( fill in the blank) picked her up.

or : The alien gaze stared from above the fence , and I blushed in embarrassment.

100 words about your favorite animal

a short story about a difficult topic like : war , famine , bullying .etc

a poem about the weather

Hi Melody! Thanks for adding your prompts to this ever-growing list!

Your prompts are definitely creative and helpful, but what I’m most impressed with is how you respond so positively and encouragingly to everyone who replied to this. Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of encouragement or approval from even a complete stranger to shift a young writers thought from maybe being able to do something to just doing it. I haven’t written in months, and are still my having any real luck, but I know I will write again someday, and I just thought it should be mentioned that you are a good person for encouraging others to do what they love. Best of luck to you…

Thank you so much, Shannon. Your words mean a lot to me. I try to be an advocate for writers and encourage young and new writers to explore their ideas and find their voices. I believe the world would be a better place if we all followed our passions, and more importantly, encouraged others to do so as well.

“Conundrum”

The little girl cries with a lie on her lips The girl can’t remember her name The little boy’s laugh rings with hollow self-doubt The little girl feels just the same A little dog lost in the thick of the woods A little man sick with dismay A little boy born in the arms of the girl A little life born from a day A little death born from an ignorant choice A little boy crying away And a little God laughs at the sight of it all For this little herd has not a say

Thanks for sharing your poem with us, Conner. Keep writing!

It’s the first time that i’m gonna be doing an inter-school creative writing competition, and i found these prompts really helpful! Thanks a billion!

You’re welcome!

Really like the prompts! It was really helpful! My brother and I are always gonna use this website! I <3 it!

Thanks! I’m glad you like it here 🙂

Thanks Melissa for the writing prompts. I asked my students to develop their writing skill through these useful prompts. By the way, I have published my first fiction ‘Faith No More’. I’d be extremely glad if you could manage to read any of it and provide me with feedback.

Hi Afshin. Thanks for sharing these prompts with your students. Requests for feedback should be sent via email (you can use the “Contact” link at the top of this site).

i have been major struggling with writing my second book and when i found these i just opened up my mind more and i decided not to write a second book it was just fine without one and now i can be on a whole other spectrum thanks so much these has inspired me a lot i put a few of em together to get ideas 🙂 well done 🙂 highly appreciated

That’s awesome. Thanks for letting me know that these prompts helped you. Good luck with your writing projects!

I just got a typewriter at a great market the other day so I came looking for something to help me have fun and get inspired while I was using it. Thanks for the help! I ended up writing a thing about an embarrassing moment that helped me learn how to not sweat it when embarrassing moments happen. This particular one had to do with toilet paper… haha. Cheers!

Embarrassing moments always make for good storytelling. Enjoy your new typewriter!

I’ve been really into playwriting lately, but I’ve been stuck with writers block for the longest time. A couple of these prompts really caught my attention and I’ve already got so many new ideas, I don’t know where to begin! 🙂

That’s awesome. I’m glad you found this piece so helpful.

I have had writers block for months now. This site has helped me so much!

I’m thrilled to hear that! Keep writing!

My favorite way to start up a story is to listen to a song and think about the story of it. Sometimes I use the first part of the song as the first sentence of my story. I hope this helps.

That’s an awesome idea! I love music-literature crossovers.

Hi thank you so much for these ideas i have chosen an idea and i have a perfect picture of my idea . Thank you again and as you will see on all of your comments you have helped a lot of children or adults from this website . Thank you !

You’re welcome! Thanks for commenting.

Great prompts.

I shared #9 with my page for a fun writing exercise about an hour ago. Great response! 🙂

Thanks for sharing one of these prompts with your readers. I hope they have fun with it.

Thanks for the prompts! Reading other people’s ideas always makes me feel more hopeful about initiating my own. I have struggled to put my thoughts down on paper for as long as I can remember- there just seems to be a disconnect between the disorganized chaos of possibilities in my head and that little spot where the ink meets the paper. BUT- I wanted to offer an idea that has often provided many interesting and fun possibilities to me- Think of a time of day ( 7 pm, the sun setting, the day cooling off, night creatures beginning to stir), or a month ( August, the air laden with heat and damp, everything deep and green and vibrant), and then try to think of all the qualities that accompany that period of time ( do most people seem happy then? is it a relaxing time? a tense time? does the weather make life easier or harder?). Once you’ve collected as many descriptions and feelings about this time as you can, then begin to build a world where it is ALWAYS that time- how do people’s lives change? 🙂

Ooh, that’s a great exercise. I wasn’t expecting the twist at all! Love it.

This is awesme. i like these. i like writing prompts, and this is a very helpful website

Thanks! I’m glad you liked these prompts.

omg wow, this helped me so much, thankyou so much!! i love my writing and this just helped me ten fold. xxx

You’re welcome. I’m glad you found it helpful.

I’ve been writing since i was eight, [approximately (obviously – i haven’t been counting!)] but I started to loose it… flame was REIGNITED by my best friend. but despite the burning, I have never actually completed a story. It knaws at me all the time! I’m currently writing a revolutionary/Sci-fi, which is odd for me, I’m more into writing realist novels… but your prompts gave me such a PERFECT plot twist that I had to comment on it! this will give me motivation for at least a few weeks… (meanwhile dancing up and down with sheer joy and attracting VERY weird looks.) Though it IS kind of weird, because non of the prompts have anything to do with it… My, how strangely the mind works…

Yes, the mind works in mysterious ways. I’m glad one of these prompts inspired you. Best of luck with your story (I love sci-fi).

This website is a life saver. My brain just froze and I was trying to do a creative writing story, and my life and my school / collage life depended on it. Thanks to one of your prompts, it won my school a pride. Thanks a lot. 🙂 bye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whoops I meant prize

That’s awesome, Tierrney! Congrats on winning a prize. Keep writing!

wow great writing promts, ive already decided on the start of my story but I cant think of anything that can happen. I want something to happen. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Try throwing some conflict at your main character. Good luck to you!

Wow!! I tried prompt number one just for fun one day, I have not exercised my creative mind in a long time, and I want to thank you for offering these prompts. I really surprised myself at the poem I wrote. It probably wouldnt go over to well with the grammar police because I used old english and standard english.. but the content just really surprised me. I was like, “where did that come from”? Thank you so much!!!! Blessings and Thanks to you for your website!

Thanks for your kind words, Kathleen. I’m so glad you found inspiration here!

thank you so much i found 3 ideas for a school project i am working on this is going to be one of my most big acomplishments!

You’re welcome! Good luck with your project.

i love this website because it helped me get an A on my project!!! i am soo thankfull to WRITING FORWARD!!! thank you sooo much and i am sooo confident that i will be sure to use this website again….thanX a million luv WRIGHTING FORWARD~~kbb

You’re welcome. Congratulations on getting such a good grade!

Writing comes from the mind and obviously the ideas comes from our real life….The story of mystery novels always comes from the fear we have in our minds and it can come from everything… I can remember the things…when I wrote my first poem ‘Rain’…it was raining in cats and dogs outside…..

I think writing comes from many places. I try not to over-analyze it, but it is interesting to examine our ideas and try to figure out where they came from.

I really like your ideas but I had some of my own that I think you could add to your list. You could add things like:

You’re outside cutting your grass when you come across a large hole in the ground. You’ve never noticed the hole before, but it looks to be some sort of tunnel to another world. You decide to peek through and see where it leads, only it leads you to a pivotal moment in your past—and it’s giving you an opportunity to change it. Write this scene.

A toy, stuffed animal, or game that once meant a lot to me

Why I deserve a larger allowance

The book that got me hooked on reading

This really bugs me.

One thing I want to do by the time I finish 8th grade

I would like to have lived during this time in history.

Thanks for adding these writing prompts, Shreya.

Start your story with: Jessica had no choice. She closed her eyes and jumped.

You might be surprised.

Ah, that’s an interesting prompt.

Here one possibly

What if you woke up one day with no memories in a strange world where nobody was who they said they were?

Wow! I really like this list of prompts! I’ve been looking for inspiration to write a short story and I especially liked the one about dragons! “We’ve all seen cute and cuddly dragons, mean and vicious dragons, and noble dragons write about a different dragon”

Thanks, Meredith! I’m glad you liked these writing prompts.

Anyone considered using visual (photos/paintings) prompts?

A scenic view, a city view, a beach, a hill, a house, a village, a car, a train, a plane, a boat, a castle, a body?

Yes, I’ve used visual prompts, and I’ve included them in my book, 1200 Creative Writing Prompts . The image prompts are described (rather than using images), but they’re a lot of fun.

Hi I’m Hallie I’m 13 years old and I love writing. Just for some reason I can never think of things to write about. I really like fantasy. I look online for writing prompt ideas and I find a lot of good ones but none of them really click. I really want to write something but I don’t know what. What should I do?

Hi Hallie. Thanks for visiting Writing Forward. What you’re experiencing is fairly common among writers. I have experienced it many times — when I want to write but I don’t know what to write and nothing clicks, I will look through prompts and my old notes, and I just don’t get fired up about anything.

I’ve found that in moments like these, the best thing to do is just write anyway. We can’t feel inspired and fired up all the time. And often, when I force myself to just follow some prompt or writing exercise, even when I don’t really feel like it, I start to get into it and eventually, something clicks.

There will be many times when writing is fun or even thrilling. But I’ve found that the people who stick with writing are those who write even when they’re not especially inspired. Sometimes it’s work. Stick with it, and you’ll experience all these highs and lows. Every single one of them is worth it.

Wow! I really like the diversity of your prompts, Mellisa. I’ve been writing a collection of short stories of my childhood experience of the Biafran War in Nigeria and struggled with some troubling memories but you’ve reminded me that I could just write everything as it comes to me and revise later. Also, I love your children stories prompts.

Thank you, Edit. That makes my day. I’m always glad when people find the articles here at Writing Forward useful. Good luck with your stories. That sounds like an important project.

is it weird that when i saw the one on dragons the first thought to my mind is ‘ i counld do one on a gay dragon, right?’ and then when i saw number 4 ( for all the twilight fans, just a heads up), i thought of jasper hale- i’m not calling him ugly- but i saw the fear part and thought to myself how he fears hurting someone/ losing control.

Is it weird? I don’t think it’s weird. The point of the prompts is to engage your imagination, so it seems like they are working, which is great.

I absolutely love these! I have been writing since I was able to talk. I told my dad exactly what to write down on little pieces of paper. Now that I’m fourteen, I was sure I wrote every idea imaginable. But these really gave me a fresh perspective, and for that, I am so grateful! It also inspired me to come up with a prompt of my own: She sprinted through the trees, quickly twisting around thick trunks as she dodged the sheriff’s arrows. Her stomach ached from the laughs that shook her entire body. Foolish sheriff. He thought he could catch a pirate?

I’m glad you enjoyed these writing prompts. Your prompt is awesome. Keep writing! It will take you places that only you can imagine.

I loved these prompts. I had my friends pick a number between 1 and 25 to chose which on to do. I think they improved my writing skills. Thank you!

I’m glad you enjoyed these prompts, Nora. Thanks for your comment.

I am a 13 year old and I love to write. I have a best friend and she always wants to see my writing, but I didn’t want her to see it because I didn’t think it was very good. She insisted on seeing it, and when I showed her the first chapter in a story I was writing just for myself, she thought it was brilliant. She then disguised it as an excerpt from an e-book app and showed it to our English teacher. My friend pretended that it was a real, published book by an actual author and asked for the teacher’s opinion. The teacher loved it and asked for the name of the book. When she discovered it was written by her own pupil, she was shocked and said i should send it to a publisher. Now I am confused. I didn’t think my writing was very good. What should I do now?

Hi Sam. I was your age when I started writing.

There are a few things you might want to do. First, continue working on your book until it’s finished. This will be hard. You will probably lose interest at some point. You’ll get stuck and feel unsure where to take the story. You’ll have other ideas that seem better, and you’ll be tempted to set this story aside. Don’t be deterred. Stick with it.

Do your parents know about your interest in writing? At 13, you would need their involvement in any publishing or submissions that you might want to do. You can also try talking to your teacher. Don’t be shy about this. It’s the job of teachers to guide their students. But keep in mind, not all English teachers are knowledgeable about the publishing industry. See if she can offer some guidance. You might be able to find literary magazine for kids your age and submit your writing so you can start getting some practice in the publishing world.

Beyond that, make sure you read a lot and write as much you can. If you love writing, it’s something that will always be with you. As you get older, you’ll be able to carve out the path you want, whether that’s to make writing a career or continue enjoying it as a hobby.

Best of luck to you!

I am 10 and I have written a few short stories of my own, and I really enjoy creative writing. I was very pleased when I found this website, now I won’t be struggling to think about what to write.

That’s wonderful, Kaiya. We love having young writers around here. Thanks so much!

I’m 12 and I also really like writing. I have always been trying to write short stories since I was six (I started with mostly seven page picture books). Finding how to start a story has always been pretty hard, but these prompts have really helped! I definitely have to explore some more of these prompts. There are so many! Thank you!!

Wow, Naomi, that’s wonderful. I was just a little older than you (13) when I started writing (poetry for me). You have a long and wonderful journey ahead of you, and I hope you enjoy all of it! You’re welcome for these prompts. I’m so glad you found them helpful.

Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful post with us.

the one that has the tailsman remids me of “Wings of Fire” because one of the dragons named darkstalker put is animus magic on a scroll and called it his tailsman and he can read minds so it really reminded me of that book

I haven’t read Wings of Fire but it sounds interesting!

oh and it fell into the wrong hands or really talons but ya i just wanted to share that information thank you for this i really got some good ideas like the detective one

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• Writers Block « Sol Searching - [...] Donovan wrote a great article at Writing Forward (http://www.writingforward.com/creative-writing/25-creative-writing-prompts) to help motivate your writing mind. She list 25 creative…
• fun for writers | Starla Kaye - [...] Writing Forward: creative writing prompts. [...]
• October 14, 2011: Write about nature. CWE 11 | icanseealotoflifeinyou - [...] http://www.writingforward.com/writing-prompts-3/creative-writing-prompts/25-creative-writing-prompts [...]
• The Ruby Slippered Sisterhood - [...] A few weeks ago, I had fun with a great little prompt I found on a blog called Writing…
• this may call for a proper introduction « arcane den of written words - [...] huge. Just a few ideas I’ve had recently. I found a really great collection of prompts here, you should…
• Writing Prompt Resources (Links galore!) – The Talers - […] https://www.writingforward.com/writing-prompts/creative-writing-prompts/25-creative-writing-prompts […]
• 116/129 Friday | Pongo Wu's First Draft - […] Writing prompt from Writing Forward: […]
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AI for Essays

11 Best AI For Writing Essays

Explore the 11 best AI for writing essays that enhance creativity and simplify the writing process. Get started today!

Sep 23, 2024

Do you need help with essays? You're not alone. Many of us face writer's block, tight deadlines, or don’t know where to start. Luckily, with the best AI for writing essays, you can tackle these challenges head-on. This guide will guide you through the top AI tools that can help you draft, research, and polish your essays effortlessly, making the writing process smoother and more efficient. Otio's AI research and writing partner is here to assist you. This tool can simplify how you write and research using AI, making your academic life much easier.

Table Of Contents

What is essay writing, how to write good essays in 6 simple steps, is ai good for writing essays, benefits of using ai for writing essays, supercharge your researching ability with otio — try otio for free today.

An essay is a piece of writing that expresses the writer's viewpoint or tells a story. It's often seen as similar to a story, paper, or article. Essays can be formal or informal. Formal essays are more academic and cover serious topics. The type of essay depends on what the writer wants to share with the reader. There are four main types of essays, each with its purpose and style.

Narrative Essays: Tell a Story

Narrative essays are about telling a story or describing an incident. They're usually written in the first person. The goal is to make the reader feel like they're experiencing the story firsthand. To achieve this, use vivid details and follow the principle of "show, don’t tell." Engage the reader and make the story come alive.

Descriptive Essays: Paint a Picture with Words

Descriptive essays focus on describing a place, object, event, or memory. The aim is to create a vivid picture in the reader’s mind, not just list details. Use sensory language to engage all the senses, not just sight. A well-written descriptive essay makes the reader feel the emotions the writer experienced at the time.

Expository Essays: Present the Facts

Expository essays involve presenting a balanced study of a topic. Writers must thoroughly know the subject, as these essays are based on facts, not personal feelings. Sub-types include contrast essays and cause-and-effect essays . There’s no room for the writer’s emotions here, just facts, statistics, and examples.

Persuasive Essays: Convince the Reader

Persuasive essays aim to persuade the reader to agree with the writer’s point of view. They’re about presenting facts and convincing the reader of the writer’s argument. Both sides of the debate need to be given, but the goal is to show that the writer’s side is more substantial.

Related Reading

• How to Get AI to Write an Essay • Best AI Writing Tools • How to Use ChatGPT to Write an Essay • Best AI for Writing Essays • AI Writing Prompts • Best AI for Essays • How to Make ChatGPT Sound Human

1. Break Down the Essay Question

Every essay starts with the prompt. The first step is to dissect it. Make sure you’re crystal clear on what’s being asked. Typically, essay questions have three key parts:

Content terms

These are the main ideas or concepts in the question.

Limiting terms

These define the boundaries of the topic.

Directive terms

These words tell you what action to take, like “analyze” or “compare.”

2. Craft Your Argument

Before writing, decide on your stance. Your argument is your central idea or thesis. For example:

Light in Gothic cathedrals symbolized its spiritual importance.

In Cologne’s Gothic cathedral, light highlighted the priest’s authority.

A clear argument unites your essay and guides the reader.

3. Back It Up with Evidence and Analysis

To win over your reader, use strong evidence and reasoning. This includes:

Use examples, facts, quotes, and statistics to support your claims.

Explain how your evidence backs up your argument.

Scholarship

Connect your ideas to existing research or theories.

4. Structure Your Essay

Essays need a clear structure : introduction, body, and conclusion.

Introduction

Introduce your topic and argument.

Develop your argument with evidence and analysis.

Summarize your key points and restate your argument.

5. Edit for Clarity

A well-argued essay can fall flat if it’s not written. Revise your work to improve flow and coherence. Ask yourself:

Is your argument clear?

Does your essay follow a logical structure?

Are your transitions smooth?

Does each paragraph focus on a single idea?

Are your sentences clear and free of errors?

6. Cite Your Sources

Don’t forget to credit your sources . Follow the required citation style and ensure accuracy. This gives credit to the original authors and strengthens your argument by showing your work is grounded in research.

In today’s world, managing information overload is a real challenge. Otio is here to help . As your AI research and writing partner , it streamlines the process from information gathering to essay drafting. Try Otio for free today !

Unlocking Writer's Block

AI can be a game-changer when it comes to writing essays. Consider staring at a blank page, knowing what you want to say but struggling to start. An AI essay generator helps you move past this hurdle. It offers initial drafts that can spark ideas. Skim through these drafts, and you'll find phrases or concepts that resonate. 

These can serve as stepping stones to build your work. Suddenly, that daunting essay feels more manageable. AI offers a way to break the cycle of staring at a cursor without writing a word.

Exploring Topic Ideas

Choosing a topic is often the most challenging part of writing an essay. With AI, you can explore various angles before settling on one. Run a few different prompts through the generator to see what comes out. You may discover an approach that you hadn’t considered. Let’s say your paper is on climate change. 

An AI tool might offer insights into specific subtopics, like economic impacts or technological solutions . This process can clarify what excites you most about the subject, leading to a more passionate and focused essay.

Articulating Complex Thoughts

Sometimes, you know what you want to say but can’t figure out how. This is where AI shines. It acts like a silent writing partner. You type in your jumbled thoughts, and the AI organizes them into coherent sentences. 

The result is similar to discussing ideas with someone else without pressure. It’s a private brainstorming session where you can express yourself in raw form, knowing the AI will help polish your thoughts into something more presentable.

• Jasper Alternatives • Copy AI Alternatives • WriteCream • Undetectable AI Alternative • SudoWrite Alternative • EduWriter.ai • QuillBot Alternatives • The Good AI

1. Otio: Revolutionizing Research and Writing

Otio is an AI-powered workspace designed to streamline the research process for students and professionals overwhelmed by information. It aggregates data from countless sources, generates detailed AI notes, and assists in drafting written pieces. It’s a game-changer for crafting essays and research papers efficiently.

2. Jasper: Your Reliable Writing Companion

Jasper is a supportive companion for essay writing. It offers an easily navigable interface brimming with features that simplify writing tasks. Jasper impresses with its ability to mimic a human-like tone, ensuring your essays don’t sound robotic.

User-friendly interface  

Human-like writing style  

Extensive selection of templates  

Excellent customer support  

On the pricier side  

May need guidance for precision  

It can require multiple attempts for optimal results  

3. Editpad: The Free Solution for Quick Edits

Editpad is a top choice for budget-conscious writers. It offers a straightforward interface and essential editing tools , such as grammar checks and style suggestions, making it easy to refine essays swiftly.

Pros  

Rapid text generation  

Effective plagiarism detection  

Cons  

Limited customization options  

AI-detected output may need refinement  

4. Rytr: Affordable, Efficient Writing

Rytr is an all-encompassing AI platform that assists in crafting high-quality essays quickly and cost-effectively. It generates content based on user inputs, allowing for continued refinement until you’re satisfied with the result.

Intuitive interface  

Cost-effective pricing  

Free version for trial  

Robust plagiarism checker  

May struggle with repetitiveness in longer texts  

5. Textero.AI: Tailored Academic Assistance

Textero.ai is a top choice for academic writing, offering features like an essay writer, outline generator, and research assistant. It provides valuable customization options and ensures plagiarism-free content .

Access to a vast research database  

High personalization of content  

Plagiarism-free outputs  

Personal library for user uploads  

It takes time to generate complete essays  

The free version has daily word limits  

6. Copy.AI: Versatile Content Creation

Copy.ai excels in creating diverse content, from marketing copy to academic essays. Its collaborative features make it ideal for team projects, though its focus leans more toward marketing.

A broad range of copywriting tools  

Collaborative capabilities  

Suitable for both marketing and academic tasks  

Overwhelming for beginners  

The free plan is limited  

7. EssayBuilder.AI: Quick Essay Generation

Essay-Builder.AI enables fast essay creation through an intuitive process. It offers a variety of essay types and customization options, making it a favorite for students needing quick results.

Extensive essay-type selection  

May lack depth in academic research  

The free version lacks citation features  

8. WriteSonic: A Comprehensive Writing Toolkit

Writesonic offers a range of writing tools, from paraphrasing to essay generation. It’s an excellent choice for those seeking a multipurpose platform, though some features may vary in quality.

A wide array of features  

Affordable pricing  

Easy-to-use interface  

Varying output quality  

Not specialized for essays  

9. HiveMind: Project Management with a Twist

HiveMind is designed for project management, but its AI tools can assist in content generation. It’s part of Hive’s larger ecosystem, offering a comprehensive suite for team collaboration.

Integrated project management tools  

AI-generated content for marketing  

Part of a larger tool ecosystem  

Not primarily focused on writing  

Outputs detectable by AI checkers  

10. Claude: New Horizons in AI Writing

Claude is emerging as a strong contender in the AI writing space, delivering high-quality creative content. While it’s still in development, its potential for essay writing is promising.

High-quality content generation  

Promising future developments  

Limited features in the beta  

Pricing is subject to change  

11. CollegeEssay.org: Tailored for Students

CollegeEssay.org is crafted specifically for students, ensuring content aligns with academic standards. It offers various tools to simplify the essay-writing process while maintaining integrity.

Advanced plagiarism detection  

Rapid essay generation  

Customizable writing options  

Limited analytical capabilities  

Requires editing for style adaptability  

Boost Your Productivity with AI

AI writing tools, like GPT-4, act like a supercharged assistant. They craft and refine your essays at high speed. This means you can focus more on research and critical thinking while AI handles the heavy lifting. Consider having more time for what matters.

Boost the Quality of Your Essays

These tools also enhance the quality of your essays. AI can catch grammar errors, improve sentence flow, and ensure your content captivates readers. Your writing becomes more polished with instant feedback from AI-based grammar checks and style editors. Plus, you’ll learn a thing or two along the way.

Make Writing More Accessible

AI levels the playing field for essay writing . Whether English isn’t your first language or you face learning obstacles, AI can help. Text-to-speech and speech-to-text tools make writing more accessible. They can also offer personalized guidance tailored to your style and needs, easing the stress of the writing process.

Knowledge workers, researchers, and students are drowning in content. The constant influx of information from articles, videos, tweets, and more can be overwhelming. Fragmented tools don't make it easier. You find yourself juggling multiple platforms just to keep up. Otio changes that. Think of it as your all-in-one AI workspace . It lets you collect data from all sorts of sources—bookmarks, YouTube videos, lengthy PDFs—and organizes them in one place. This approach reduces the chaos, making it easier to focus on what matters.

Fast-Track Your Research with AI-Generated Notes

Consider this: you’ve bookmarked a dozen articles, a couple of YouTube videos, and a PDF or two. Instead of slogging through each one manually, Otio provides AI-generated notes for all of them. It extracts the key takeaways, allowing you to grasp the material quickly. Want to know more about a specific point? You can chat with individual links or entire knowledge bases just like you would with ChatGPT. This feature is a game-changer for anyone who needs to synthesize information fast.

From Reading List to First Draft with Ease

Have you ever wished you could go from having a reading list to a first draft in a day? Otio helps you do just that. Once you've collected information and extracted the key points, you can start drafting. Otio uses AI to assist in writing, guiding you through the process so you’re never staring at a blank page for long. This makes writing research papers or essays faster and less stressful.

Transform Your Research Workflow

With Otio, you’re not just collecting and taking notes. You’re transforming the way you work. It’s a dynamic, AI-native workspace that understands the needs of researchers. Whether you're a student writing an essay or a knowledge worker compiling a report, Otio makes the process smoother . It’s more than a tool; it’s a partner in your research journey.

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