Photography also became a flexible metaphor that would lend a unity to the essay. My particular interest in the personal essay, as I interpret it at least, is a freeing up of the argument which is at the base of my novels. The novel is, I believe, a form of argument with the different characters each taking a position, and even the readers are invited to engage in the argument in the act of reading. The short story is a formal construction, a vessel to hold and enact a particular emotion. Certainly, the essay form has been enjoying a renewed interest by writers and readers.
People are always curious about others' lives.
I think young writers enjoy the form because of the challenges it offers off the orderly, well-traveled routes of fiction. But, of course, I hope to take pains that the reader will understand the fabrication and have fun with it. That's easy and in one word - read. No, two - keep reading.