CLC Kenya Writing

4-1a. How to Use Cyclic Structure: Connecting Different Parts of Your Story

Cyclic structure helps a writer connect different moments in a story so that they speak to one another, even when the story is not told strictly in chronological order.

A writer may begin in the present, return to an earlier memory, move back into the present, hear somebody tell a story from many years ago, and later experience something that echoes that earlier story.

Instead of writing:

Childhood → High School → University → Marriage → Present Day

you may choose to write:

Present Day → Childhood Memory → Present Day → University → Earlier Childhood → Present Day

The story moves backwards and forwards in time, but it should still feel connected.

This is especially useful in memoir, autobiographical fiction, creative non-fiction and novels where the writer wants to use flashbacks, memories, parallel timelines, recurring scenes or past events that explain present behaviour.

The key principle is simple:

The timeline may move, but the reader should never lose the story.

Story Connection

Focus on Connection, Not Just Chronology

The Important Question Is Not:
Did I tell everything in the exact order in which it happened?
The Better Question Is:
Can the reader understand how these different moments connect?

A story does not become clear simply because events are presented chronologically. What matters is that the reader can follow the relationship between one experience, decision, consequence and turning point and the next.

A Kenyan Christmas book cover
Cyclic Storytelling Example

A Kenyan Christmas

A Kenyan Christmas gives us a particularly useful example because the main storyline follows fourteen-year-old Amani, who lives in New York and travels with her parents to Kenya to spend Christmas with her grandparents and extended family. At the beginning she is excited about returning to Mombasa, seeing her grandparents and learning more about her Kenyan heritage.

Although Amani’s physical journey moves forward from New York to Kenya, the story repeatedly reaches backwards through memories and family stories. Those earlier experiences then connect with what Amani experiences during the present Christmas.

The Heart of Cyclic Storytelling
The story can travel backwards in time while still moving forward in meaning.

Give the Reader a Clear Present Story

Before moving backwards and forwards in time, give the reader a clear main storyline to hold onto.

In A Kenyan Christmas, the present storyline is easy to understand:

Amani is travelling from New York to Kenya to spend Christmas with her family.

She packs in New York, travels to the airport, boards the plane, arrives in Kenya and eventually joins her grandparents and extended family for Christmas.

This journey becomes the anchor.

Because readers understand what is happening in the present, the writer can temporarily move into earlier events without losing them.

For example, while Amani is thinking excitedly about seeing her family, she remembers that the last time she was with her cousins, Muthoni and Mumbi, they fought over toys. She remembers a particular disagreement over a favourite doll and wonders whether things will be different now that they are teenagers.

Using Flashbacks Well

Let the Past Serve the Present Story

Notice what has happened in Amani’s story. The narrative moves from the present into a memory and then returns to the present with a new question carrying the story forward.

Present

Amani is travelling to Kenya.

↓
Past

She remembers fighting with her cousins four years earlier.

↓
Present

She wonders what their relationship will be like this time.

The Memory Creates a Question for the Present Story
Have they grown enough to relate differently now?
A Useful Flashback Should Help Us Understand:
what the character is thinking what they are fearing what they are hoping for what they are preparing to face now

A flashback should not merely interrupt the present. It should deepen the reader’s understanding of the present storyline and give greater meaning to what the character is facing now.

Let the Present Naturally Open the Door to the Past

One of the smoothest ways to move into the past is to allow something happening in the present to trigger it.

In A Kenyan Christmas, Amani’s approaching family reunion triggers memories of her previous time with her cousins.

The transition makes sense because she is not remembering an unrelated childhood event. She is thinking about the same people she is about to meet.

Beginner Writing Technique

Use a Simple Present → Memory → Present Pattern

A beginning writer can handle a cyclic transition clearly by moving from the present into a short memory, then returning to the present with a reason for that memory having appeared.

Present
Amani smiled as she imagined seeing Muthoni and Mumbi again.
↓
Memory
The smile faded slightly. The last time the three girls had been together, they had spent more time arguing over toys than enjoying each other’s company.
↓
Return to the Present
But that had been four years ago. They were teenagers now. Surely things would be different.
Present → Memory → Present

This is one of the simplest and safest ways for beginner writers to use cyclic structure. The past has a reason for appearing. It deepens the present moment and creates meaning for what happens next.

Use Stories Within the Story to Move Across Generations

Not every movement into the past has to happen through the main character’s own memory.

Another character can carry the reader backwards.

A Kenyan Christmas does this very effectively during the flight to Kenya.

Amani asks her father:

“Dad, tell me a Christmas story.”

Her father begins remembering what Christmas was like when he was a boy in Kenya.

The reader is physically still with Amani on an aeroplane crossing continents.

But narratively, the story has moved backwards into her father’s childhood.

He tells her about Christmas Eve decorations made from inexpensive materials, Christmas morning church services, family feasts, handmade gifts, village carolling and the importance of celebrating with family and friends rather than measuring Christmas by expensive presents.

This is useful cyclic writing because the past is not disconnected from the present.

Foreshadowing Through Memory

Let the Past Prepare the Reader for What Is Coming

Amani is travelling towards the very place where she will soon experience some of these traditions for herself.

The father’s childhood story therefore does more than provide background. It helps connect family memory with the present journey and prepares the reader for later events.

1
Family History

It gives Amani and the reader a glimpse into the family’s earlier Christmas experiences.

2
Cultural Understanding

It teaches Amani something about Kenyan Christmas traditions before she experiences them herself.

3
Preparation

It prepares the reader for what is coming later in the present storyline.

Writing Technique

Foreshadowing Through Memory

A past event, memory or family story quietly prepares the reader for something that will become important later.

Past Memory → Present Understanding → Future Expectation

The past is helping us anticipate the future. A useful memory can therefore explain what came before while also creating expectation for what the reader is about to encounter.

Let an Earlier Story Echo in a Later Scene

This is where cyclic structure becomes especially powerful.

Amani’s father tells her that Christmas when he was young involved church, family, food, simple gifts, stories, singing and togetherness. He stresses that what made Christmas special was not expensive presents or decorations, but the love shared among family and friends.

Later, Amani actually experiences Christmas in Kenya.

She attends church with her family. Afterwards, everyone gathers together. A feast is prepared with foods including pilau, wali wa nazi, chapati and nyama choma. The family prays together, eats together, tells stories and enjoys one another’s company.

The earlier story has now become a present experience.

Cyclic Connection

Return to the Same Idea With New Meaning

The pattern looks like this:

Past

Dad remembers family Christmas celebrations.

→
Present

Amani hears the stories while flying to Kenya.

→
Later Present

Amani participates in a similar family Christmas herself.

This is cyclic connection.

The writer has not repeated the same material unnecessarily. Instead, each return to the idea performs a different function.

1
Memory

The first appearance introduces the past.

2
Anticipation

The second appearance helps the reader expect what may come next.

3
Experience

The third appearance allows the character to live what was first remembered.

Each return develops the idea. Repetition becomes meaningful when every appearance adds something new to the reader’s understanding or to the character’s experience.

Return to the Same Theme With New Meaning

Cyclic writing works particularly well when the same theme keeps returning but becomes deeper each time.

In A Kenyan Christmas, one recurring theme is:

Christmas is about more than presents.

During the flight, Amani asks her father whether he received many presents at Christmas.

His response shifts the conversation towards family, simple handmade gifts, love, kindness and togetherness.

At that stage, Amani is hearing the lesson.

Later, she experiences it.

She celebrates with her cousins, grandparents and parents. The family shares food, stories and gifts, and Grandma gives her a handmade bracelet. Amani reflects on the warmth and love of being together.

Finally, the idea becomes part of Amani’s own understanding. As Christmas draws to a close, she realises that the true spirit of the celebration is found in the love and happiness shared with her family.

Developing Theme Through Cyclic Structure

Let the Theme Return With Greater Meaning

A theme becomes stronger when it develops through the character’s experience instead of being repeated as the same statement.

1

Dad remembers it.

→
2

Dad teaches it.

→
3

Amani experiences it.

→
4

Amani understands it for herself.

Weaker Approach

Simply telling readers five times:

Christmas is about family.
Stronger Approach

Let the idea move from memory, to teaching, to experience, to personal understanding.

The theme returns, but every return adds meaning. This is the difference between unnecessary repetition and purposeful thematic development.

Connect Generations Through Parallel Experiences

Cyclic structure can also connect generations.

Amani’s father remembers what Christmas was like when he was young.

Later, Amani experiences Christmas in Kenya as a young person herself.

The reader can therefore compare:

The father’s childhood Christmas

with:

The daughter’s Kenyan Christmas years later.

Some things have changed.

Amani comes from New York. She travels by aeroplane. Her life and environment differ from the childhood her father describes.

Yet some things remain:

  • family;
  • church;
  • food;
  • stories;
  • singing;
  • simple gifts;
  • cultural heritage;
  • love;
  • togetherness.

That connection gives the story a sense of continuity between generations.

A writer can use this technique in many kinds of stories.

For example:

A grandmother remembers walking to school barefoot.

Later:

Her granddaughter walks through the same village on her first day as the school’s new headteacher.

Or:

A father remembers planting a mango tree as a child.

Years later:

His daughter sits under that tree after his funeral.

The scenes belong to different periods, but one enriches the other.

Use Memory to Create Questions That the Present Must Answer

Amani’s memory of fighting with her cousins is useful because it creates tension before the reunion.

She remembers that four years earlier they argued over toys. Now she wonders whether Muthoni and Mumbi have changed. Her mother reminds her that all three girls have grown and matured.

The memory raises a question:

Will they fight again?

That question gives the present story something to resolve.

This is a valuable technique.

Suppose your character is attending a wedding.

You could write:

Leah saw her sister standing beside the altar.

Then move backwards:

Five years earlier, Leah had promised never to speak to her again.

Now the reader immediately wants to know:

What happened between them, and what will happen today?

The flashback has created tension in the present.

A useful flashback does not merely tell us what happened before.

It makes us more interested in what will happen next.

Use Objects, Food, Places and Traditions as Bridges

A cyclic connection does not always require a long flashback.

Sometimes an object, place, food or tradition can carry the connection.

A Kenyan Christmas provides several possibilities.

Amani’s father remembers coconut rice as part of family Christmas celebrations. Later, food prepared by the family becomes part of Amani’s own Christmas experience.
He remembers carolling in the village.

Later, Grandma begins singing a Christmas carol and the family joins her.

He remembers simple gifts whose importance came from the love behind them.

Later, Amani receives a handmade bracelet from Grandma.

These echoes make the story feel connected.

The writer does not have to announce:

“Remember when Dad mentioned handmade gifts earlier?”

The reader can recognise the connection.

This is an important lesson:

Trust repeated details to carry meaning.

Let the Same Detail Mean Something Different Later

A recurring detail becomes especially effective when its meaning develops.

Consider the gifts.

Earlier in the story, Amani naturally asks about presents when her father describes Christmas.

Her father explains that the joy was not in expensive gifts but in the love behind handmade ones.

Later, Grandma gives Amani a handmade bracelet.

Now that bracelet is more than jewellery.

Within the structure of the story, it represents:

  • Grandma’s love;
  • family;
  • heritage;
  • the father’s earlier lesson;
  • Amani’s growing understanding of Christmas.

This is how a small object can hold a large amount of story meaning.

The same can be done with:

  • a photograph;
  • Bible;
  • necklace;
  • meal;
  • song;
  • tree;
  • house;
  • letter;
  • piece of clothing;
  • family saying.

Introduce it earlier.

Allow it to return.

Let its meaning grow.

Use the Present as Your Anchor When Telling a Longer Past Story

The aeroplane scene gives writers another useful lesson.

Amani and her family are physically travelling to Kenya when her father begins telling the childhood Christmas story.

The present action does not disappear completely.

Amani is still sitting on the aeroplane. Food is being served. She responds to her father’s memories and asks questions. Eventually, the family returns fully to the flight and Amani falls asleep dreaming about Kenya.

This is important.

When you include a long memory or story from the past, occasionally reminding readers of the present can prevent them from becoming lost.

For example:

“We used to make our own decorations,” Dad said.

Then a few paragraphs of childhood memory.

Then:

Amani took another bite of her dinner. “What happened on Christmas morning?”

The reader is reminded:

We are still on the plane. Dad is telling this story to Amani.

This creates a clear narrative frame.

Make the Entrance and Exit Clear

Whenever you move into another time, help readers recognise the transition.

Flashback Technique

Give Every Flashback a Clear Entrance and Exit

In A Kenyan Christmas, the father’s transition is very clear. The reader knows when the story moves into the past and when it returns to the present.

Entering the Flashback
1

Amani asks for a Christmas story.

→
2

Dad begins telling her what Christmas was like when he was a boy.

The reader understands immediately that the time has changed. The conversation itself creates the doorway.

Phrases That Can Open the Door to the Past
“When I was your age…”
“The last time we were here…”
“Grandma used to tell me…”
“I remember one Christmas…”
“Five years earlier…”
“The song carried her back to…”
Returning to the Present
Dad finished his story.
↓
Amani looked through the aeroplane window and imagined the Christmas awaiting her in Kenya.

Now we know we are fully back in the present.

Present → Entrance → Past → Exit → Present

A flashback needs an entrance and an exit. Do not make the reader guess when the timeline has changed. Give them a clear doorway into the memory and another clear signal when the story returns to the present.

Do Not Turn Every Piece of Background Into a Flashback

A Kenyan Christmas also shows that not everything from the past requires a fully dramatised scene.

When Amani thinks about her cousins, the book tells us that they fought over toys four years earlier and mentions the argument over a favourite doll.

The writer does not necessarily need ten pages showing the entire childhood fight.

The brief memory is enough to establish the concern.

This gives us a useful editing question:

Does the reader need to experience this past event, or do they simply need to know that it happened?

Use a short memory when background information is sufficient.

Use a full flashback or extended recollection when the past event carries significant emotion, conflict, revelation or meaning.

Connect the Beginning, Middle and Ending

A strong cyclic structure often allows the ending to answer something introduced near the beginning.

At the beginning of A Kenyan Christmas, Amani is excited about travelling to Kenya. She wants to see her grandparents, hear their stories and learn more about her heritage.

During the journey, her father tells her stories about Christmas in Kenya.

Later, she experiences the country, family traditions and Christmas celebration herself.

By Christmas Day, she is no longer merely imagining what a Kenyan Christmas might be like. She has participated in the church service, shared the family meal, listened to stories, exchanged gifts and joined in the family celebration.

Completing the Story Cycle

Let the Ending Complete an Idea, Not Just an Event

In A Kenyan Christmas, the story does more than move towards Christmas Day. It develops an idea through several connected stages.

1
Expectation

Amani looks forward to returning to Kenya and experiencing Christmas with her family.

→
2
Memory & Family Stories

Earlier Christmas experiences and family memories give meaning to what she is about to encounter.

→
3
Experience

Amani participates in the family and cultural experiences for herself.

→
4
Understanding

What began as expectation becomes something Amani can now understand through personal experience.

Why This Feels Complete

Expectation → Memory → Experience → Understanding creates a satisfying cycle because each stage develops what came before.

The Ending Is More Than:
Christmas Day finishes
≠
The story’s central idea reaches completion

The ending does not simply stop because Christmas Day has finished. It completes an idea that began before Amani boarded the plane. That is what makes the cycle feel satisfying rather than merely chronological.

Cyclic Development

Cyclic Writing Is Different From Repetition

This distinction is important. Repetition simply restates an idea. Cyclic writing returns to the same idea, but each return develops it further.

Repetition
Christmas is about family.
↓
Christmas is about family.
↓
Christmas is about being with family.
Nothing develops.
Cyclic Writing in A Kenyan Christmas
1
First

Amani looks forward to seeing family.

↓
2
Then

Dad remembers Christmas with family when he was young.

↓
3
Then

Dad explains why togetherness mattered more than expensive gifts.

↓
4
Later

Amani celebrates with her extended family.

↓
5
Finally

Amani understands the importance of love and togetherness for herself.

Repetition

Same idea

→ Same meaning
VS
Cyclic Development

Same idea

→ Deeper meaning

The same idea returns, but the reader moves deeper into it each time. That is cyclic development.

Story Organisation

Keep a Timeline Behind the Scenes

Even if your story moves through memories and flashbacks, the writer should know the true chronological order of events.

For A Kenyan Christmas, the author could privately map the story like this:

1
Earlier Past

Dad’s childhood Christmases in Kenya

2
Later Childhood

Amani’s earlier childhood visits and disagreements with her cousins

3
Present Story Begins

Amani’s present life in New York

4
Preparation

Preparation for the trip

5
Journey

Flight to Kenya

6
Memory Inside the Present

Dad’s recollections during the flight

7
Arrival

Arrival in Kenya

8
Experience

Family activities and cultural experiences

9
Celebration

Christmas celebration

The Reader

Does not have to receive every event in chronological order.

The Writer

Needs to know exactly where every event belongs in the true timeline.

A non-chronological story requires careful organisation, not less organisation. The reader may move backwards and forwards in time, but the writer should always know the underlying order.

Cyclic Story Map

A Simple Cyclic Map from A Kenyan Christmas

The structure can be understood like this:

Present

Amani prepares to travel from New York to Kenya.

↓
Memory

She remembers previously fighting with Muthoni and Mumbi.

↓
Present

She wonders whether their relationship will be different now.

↓
Past Through Dad’s Story

Dad remembers Christmas in Kenya when he was a boy.

↓
Present

Amani continues travelling towards Kenya with a new understanding of what Christmas there might mean.

↓
Present Experience That Echoes the Past

She celebrates Christmas with church, food, stories, gifts, singing and family.

↓
Understanding

Amani recognises for herself the love, gratitude and togetherness her father had described.

That is a clear example of how several periods of time can belong to one connected story. The timeline moves backwards and forwards, but each movement develops the same central journey.

Final Principle

Cyclic writing does not mean placing memories randomly throughout a manuscript.

Every movement into the past should have a relationship with what is happening in the present.

A Kenyan Christmas shows how this can work through family memory. Amani travels towards a new Christmas while hearing about an older generation’s Christmas. Her father’s memories prepare her for what she is about to experience, and later scenes echo many of the things he described. What begins as somebody else’s memory gradually becomes part of Amani’s own experience.
That gives us the central rule:

Every journey into the past should add meaning to the present and help move the larger story forward.

The timeline may move backwards and forwards, but the reader should always be able to see the thread connecting the story.

Training by: Dr. Muthoni Mercy Omukhango

Dr. Muthoni Mercy Omukhango is a Christian publisher, author, trainer, and marketplace minister. She serves as National Director of CLC Kenya, Authors’ Manager at the African Christian Authors Book Award (ACABA), Convener of Mama Africa Book Box, and Patron of CLC Kids and Teens.

Through the Publishing in Africa Series, she equips authors, publishers, and literary entrepreneurs with practical strategies for developing, publishing, distributing, and growing African-authored literature.

Her ministry is centred on advancing God’s Kingdom through literature and helping more African voices to be written, published, distributed, and read.

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