So I thought I should write five pages a day. And that's what I did. Eventually I had a book. Don Winslow More Quotes by Don Winslow More Quotes From Don Winslow If you let people believe that you are weak, sooner or later you’re going to have to kill them. Don Winslow weak believe people Smart people sometimes get stupid, but stupid people never get smart. Don Winslow smart stupid people And the most dangerous place on earth - Is where you’re safe. Don Winslow dangerous safe earth The devil's in the details. The way I view my job is to bring the reader into a world they otherwise could not enter and let them see it through the character's eyes. And you can only do that with detail. The details make the characters distinct from one another. If you can give them those little grace notes, those little touches, that's what makes the reader relate. Don Winslow eye giving character I never think about a movie when I'm writing a book, because I think only two things could happen and both of them are bad. You write a lousy novel and a lousy film. Don Winslow writing book thinking Ridley Scott obviously an iconic director, he's made some fantastic films. Obviously a very smart, very tasteful, thoughtful guy. So yeah, I'm in good shape; got Ridley Scott with The Cartel. Don Winslow thoughtful smart guy I have a life, I have a wife. I have an adult son who I'm very close to, and friends. I go hiking almost every day, four to six miles. In the summer, I'm out surfing or swimming. I think that real, human relationships with people mostly balance dark places in my work. Don Winslow swimming real summer I think people will be surprised at some of the things about the shootings by policemen of unarmed African-American men. But I also think it's a balanced view. Balance has become almost a dirty word these days. It seems we're supposed to pick one side or the other. But these issues are extremely complicated. I think people will be surprised at some of that. Don Winslow men dirty thinking I would prefer things to be peaceful and not have conflict. Don Winslow peaceful conflict I don't recognize myself. I don't know who I am anymore." And it's all fun and games until someone loses an I. Don Winslow who-i-am games fun Alcoholism, tobacco, drunk driving, these things will always be with us. There's always going to be a certain percentage of any population that is addicted to certain substances. Don Winslow population drunk substance American cops didn't create that atmosphere, they're the ones though who have to live with it on a daily basis. These are generalisations; you can't make generalisations about hundreds of thousands of people. The New York Police Department, for instance, has 38,000 police officers in it. But most cops, when I talk to them, desperately care about the victims of gun violence. They see it, they experience it. Don Winslow police gun people How much more money do we have to waste, how many more families have to be destroyed, how many more people have to be killed before you summon the courage to tell the truth to the American people? Don Winslow waste telling-the-truth people There are various kinds of savagery: emotional, spiritual, economic, and cultural savagery. Don Winslow emotional kind spiritual I have to remind the people who put down East Coast surfing that Kelly Slater is from Florida. Don Winslow florida surfing people American cops are the ones who are in the emergency rooms. They're the ones who go to the morgues. They're the ones who have to go tell the families that their son is not coming back, their husband, their wife, is not coming home that night. So when we talk about guns and gun violence and police, let's understand that as well. No one wants guns off the streets more than cops because cops are killed by those guns. Don Winslow husband home son I have sat with the mothers who have lost addicted sons. I have sat with families of kids who have been killed in drug-related gang violence. I have been to the prisons. I have seen the effects. At some point in time, I felt I had to do something other than write a novel about it, that I needed to try to make some sort of contribution, at least try to make some sort of difference in the real world. Don Winslow real mother kids I think you can use fiction to get inside people's minds. Don Winslow mind people thinking The Americans take a product that literally grows on trees and turn it into a valuable commodity. Without them, cocaine and marijuana would be like oranges, and instead of making billions smuggling it, I’d be making pennies doing stoop labor in some California field, picking it. Don Winslow orange marijuana california I was researching some of the modern-day figures that The Sopranos were moulded on. So many iconic Sopranos moments. James Gandolfini and Edie Falco had an incredible scene together in the kitchen of that house that looked like it was about to explode. That was an iconic series that changed the way we did television. It is also an extremely realistic portrayal of the mafia. Much more so than The Godfather. The Godfather, one of the greatest films ever, but let's face it, a romanticized version of the mob. Don Winslow kitchen together house
