Use creative writing prompts. Give students prompts that will invite them to write about memories, ideas and issues about which they feel strong emotion. Good prompts encourage specific writing; "A friend I will always regret losing touch with" is a better prompt than "Friends I remember." The best creative essay topic is one that is meaningful and important to the writer, and most student writers need to explore a variety of different topics before they find one to shape into a powerful essay.
Invite student feedback. Have students offer each other feedback on their responses to prompts. Sometimes other readers are the best tool to help a writer choose a topic for his essay. Readers can feel the writer's passion for a particular topic, even in the rough draft form of a prompt.
Narrow topic choices. After students have written several prompt responses, preferably over several class periods, have each student choose one topic for her creative essay. Have each student choose at least two topics and write an expanded response on those topics. This can be a few paragraphs or a brainstorm of an outline for an essay. Brainstorming ideas for several different topics will help the student decide which topic she is most interested in using for her creative essay.
Choose topics. After exploring several different topics, students can finalize their essay topic choices.
Study examples. Choose at least one or two examples of creative essays and analyze them with the class. Point out the characteristics that make the genre interesting, such as the attention to descriptive detail and the blending of facts with personal reflection and opinion.
Write rough drafts. Have the students write drafts of their essays. As they write, remind them of the characteristics of creative essays and offer each student individual suggestions for including those characteristics in his writing.
Have students self-evaluate. List all the key characteristics of a quality creative essay, such as excellent word choice, detailed descriptions, a focused theme and personal opinion. Make a rubric that lists these characteristics and provides a space for scoring each essay on each characteristic. Give copies of the rubric to each student, and ask each one to rate her own essay on the characteristics.
Have students evaluate their peers' writing. If time allows, let each student read his essay to the class and get feedback from all the other students. For a large class, divide students into pairs for evaluation.
Revise essays. Have the students rewrite their work, incorporating suggestions for improvement from other members of the class and focusing on including all the characteristics of excellent creative essays.
Finish and share essays. Ask students to proofread and edit their essays for any mistakes. Have them share the final versions with the class, either by reading again or by publishing all the essays in a class booklet.