Whatever I watched, whatever I loved in 36 years of life on Earth, probably had some influence on me.

I don't think you can create effectively toward expectation. I'm not in the service business.

I made True Detective like it was going to be the only thing I ever made for television. So put in everything and the kitchen sink. Everything.

I find the constraints of drama actually freeing: It brings everything down to character and action.

At DePauw, I was teaching writing and fiction. The things I wanted to teach, more than anything else, were form and theory of the novel, of narrative. I liked those classes.

Some people, no matter where they look, they see themselves.

As someone with a novelistic background, I just didn't have much interest in creating stories by committee. I don't think you necessarily get the best story through that approach.