Tips, tips, tips!!! Today, we hear this word everywhere, and the reason is that we really need it. The writing process is no exception, especially when we are talking about a creative essay. By the way, what is creative writing?
First of all, creative writing is a powerful tool when we need to tell a story. It also helps students’ social and individual growth because they learn to manage time, research, and organize collected information. Therefore, creative writing not only stretches the imagination but gives learners essential skills for real life. Our article will show you real, working steps to make your creative essay fresh, original, and easy to read.
1. Choose your subject.
Insofar as creative writing offers a wonderful outlet for self-expression, it is easy to stray out of the subject’s frame. So, choose the subject wisely to protect your essay from having a weak and undefined structure. When selecting a subject, pick something you and others will find engaging. Your subject is not always something you should know well, but that’s a case to move on to the next tip.
2. Research background information.
Creative writing concerns any form of narrative writing, from feature articles to poetry and novels. It excludes academic or technical writing standards, so you may feel more free when you see the blank page. However, your creative essay should have a basis to rely on.
Every good writer researches background information for creative essays in various ways. Some of them search for material in libraries, going through dozens of books and archive documents, and others prefer to talk to experts and ask questions directly. There are many homework hacks and unique ways to learn about the subject matter, such as online sources for students, video blogs, and articles.
3. Brainstorm and note.
Look through your topic from various perspectives and write down all relevant and unrelated thoughts. After you list them, sift through what you want to keep for the essay and what is unnecessary. If it is challenging for you to start the brainstorming process, ask yourself such questions as who, how, when, where, and what your creative essay is about. It will help you to find the hook and unique context of the story.
4. Plan the essay.
A creative essay plan will be the skeleton of your story, so it follows the standard structure: introduction, essay body of three paragraphs, and conclusion. In any case, this is the basis for various essay types, but it should be helpful while writing your essay creatively.
- Starting with the introduction, remember to catch readers’ attention and include the setup. This should describe the establishment of the characters and their relationship to each other. Allow readers to start inferring about plot development. Make sure you have a hook concerning the topic, which you will explain in the body paragraphs.
- Each paragraph must have a structure, a main idea, and start with a topic sentence. This is the place where the action rises toward a confrontation. Include relevant information about the action of each character. After it, use a turning point to turn smooth sailing into a heavy storm of events. Move your reader to a boiling point or culmination.
- Begin your conclusion with the logical (or open) resolution of the preceding paragraphs. Don’t rush – leave a strong impression in the reader’s mind with the end of the story. Restate the drama in the story to settle it in the final act.
You can also diversify this outline to be more creative, and make a cliffhanger ending to leave the reader in suspense.
5. Write a draft.
Once you have the first four steps in place, start writing the story. Use your outline and start with the introduction. In the introduction, create the scenario to draw place, time, and background. If it’s hard for you to overcome the fear of the blank page, try to be fun and engaging. Just start writing anything about the material you collected during your research, and you’ll see how freely thoughts will come to your mind.
Develop the structure of the essay, containing a short or long story. That’s where you will make a choice for the number of paragraphs in the body of the creative composition. A rough draft will make you more confident after you finish it, so don’t postpone this step to move toward your goal!
6. Edit.
The editing process can be difficult for some students, as your teacher said. Give your text for proofreading using the peer response method, or ask an experienced editor from your educational institution to look through your essay. If you want to edit by yourself, leave your draft for a while and come back to it later. It will help you to see your flaws more clearly and tidy up the essay more efficiently.
When you get to this tip, make sure you focus not only on technical corrections such as spelling and grammar but on making your story smooth and fluid. Avoid choppiness, and direct the flow from one paragraph to another with transitions. Seamlessly move one idea into another with such words as “yet”, “but”, “however”, “also”, “therefore”, or “and”.
7. Re-read and track the flow.
As we mentioned earlier, a creative essay is not like other academic works. When writing the introduction, the narration will start with a certain pace automatically. The plot will progress, and the flow of the story will have its own tempo. Some parts may be uneven, such as being too slow or too fast.
The point of re-reading is to get a feeling of the work and the tempo, and finish the essay so that it is satisfying. Also, it is no good to be bored while reading your own story, so plan to rewrite some parts if you feel inconsistencies.
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Creating a powerful essay
We are glad you’ve read these points, so you now can keep yourself on track with your creative writing. Avoid going down a meandering path, and make your creative essay impressive and valuable!