No, but the essay form is how I do some of my best thinking / wordsmithing. I'm frequently concerned with making words do what I want - not only in terms of meaning, but also in fuzzier ways - I try to use light amounts of internal rhyme, and I pay attention to where syllable stresses fall. By writing to that form, I keep in practice. (Or, as lately, by not writing at all, I fall out of practice.)