From my experience language is read and written in a linear way but thoughts aren't linear. We've habituated ourselves to linear expressions since it is an effective strategy for conveying meaning in a common way. Still our thoughts aren't linear and the first time I realized this was when I reached a moderate level of fluency in a second language. I started noticing that the second language had a different kind of shape to it. I had a big leap in progress once I started thinking in terms of the shape of a thought and now I can think in that second language.