I just posted about Peter Elbow's 70s classic, Writing without Teachers, which is a must-read if you have not.

I think Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones would be useful as well.

If you want to talk about strategies I use for teaching essays I'd be happy to do that or make a post about it inviting others to join in, too. And I'd love to hear what you do as well. I think I learn best from talking about teaching with my colleagues.