Unlocking Hidden Power: How Tiny Details in Form and Structure Transform Your Writing’s Impact
Once you have determined the themes of your work, you can then begin to explore how these themes might lend themselves to form and structure. Remember, writing effective nonfiction is not simply about recounting a memory in linear detail, starting with the beginning and then moving dutifully to the end. Rather, it is about immersing the reader in your experience and emotion, both of which are often episodic, cyclical, meandering and other shapes that defy the traditional linearity of casual recounting. For example, in an essay about queer girlhood, I share the story of an unrequited childhood crush, using staccato segments as the structure to share what it was like to have a friend fail to connect the dots.
