Writing like Dancing

I have, as some of you know, been working on the same novel for the past decade—one that takes place in southern Spain. It's never been about getting the landscape right, the details. It's always been about the plot. Were I to speak now of all the transmutations that plot has gone through, you'd think that was the story itself.

But it's not, and at long last, the book is in hand. It is altogether, in one place, and here then, here now, is my favorite part of writing: the calm that comes from knowing that a fortifiable structure is in place, the joy of doing more to broaden and deepen the themes. This is like dancing when you finally know the steps, and all you have to do is hear the song.