<p>What makes the difference between a creative essay and a gimmicky essay?</p>
<p>I’m doing something kind of unorthodox for the roommate essay, but I’m not sure if it’s too risky or contrived…</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>The roommate essay is a good opportunity to showcase your sense of humor and creativity, but you are wise to attempt to sidestep a gimmicky essay. I’d say that superficiality is what separates a gimmicky essay from a distinctive but creative one. In other words, if the idea has enough substance to it that you can develop it from multiple angles, and if it is somewhat thought-provoking, you’re on the right track. Good luck.</p>
<p>Well I wouldn’t go as far as writing a poem, obviously, but the format I’m using is different from anything I’ve seen so far on these forums…</p>
<p>however, it’s a style that I actually might use if I had to write a <em>real</em> letter to a roommate. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, I can’t get real feedback unless I post my essay, but at the same time, I am slightly wary of doing so…</p>
<p>can you specify what you mean by “developing it from multiple angles”?
Thanks!</p>
<p>It’s hard to be more specific without knowing more about what you have in mind, but one aspect of what I mean is that if, e.g., you use a literary device of some kind in addressing your roommate, you’d want to be sure that it would work to reveal a variety of significant things about you, and not only hit one idea repeatedly. That would not only seem contrived, but it wouldn’t serve the purpose of the essay, which is to show how you would relate to someone with whom you would be sharing space.</p>