[MikeWaters]

It seems, based on the Oprah interview, that at some point after being inspired by viewing El Paso and the mountains surrounding it, and imagining it on fire, McCarthy wrote a very short treatment. It sounds like he wrote something that may have not been more than a couple or few pages. Then he relates the point at which he decided that it deserved a longer treatment.

It may be a process like a writer's notebook. Ideas are jotted down, short treatments are written, and then in a conscious and subconscious sifting process, something is selected to be given full attention.

It was in one of the reviews, maybe the Wood review, that it is mentioned that McCarthy has largely written unpublished novels on his desk. Certainly some get the longer treatment, but never see the light of the day.