Cross Creek consists of twenty-three chapters; some, like the first and last, are essentially thoughtful essays; others, like '"Geechee" or "Hyacinth Drift," are self-contained sketches, virtually short stories, of a particular character or event. (Some had been published separately, including "Hyacinth Drift," printed in Scribner's in 1933.) Rawlings narrates in the first person, and the person speaking is clearly Rawlings herself; on occasion, as Samuel Bellman has noted, she uses first person plural: "we of the Creek."

Rawlings's greatest difficulty in completing the book was in making it a unified whole rather than simply a collection of short pieces. Her own persona, which is always present and is thoughtful and humane, is the chief unifying element, although lesser devices assist.