I’ve decided I want to be Dennis Lehane when I grow up. In addition to a wildly successful writing career, the guy is on a roll for having his books made into “Big Time” movies. Clint Eastwood directed Mystic River. Ben Afleck picked Lehane’s Gone Baby, Gone for his directorial debut. Now Martin Scorsese is going to direct Shutter Island.
And the guy seems humble. Take, for instance, this bit from an AP article via CNN:
So what’s Lehane’s explanation? His talent is not, he insists, originality of plot, going so far as to say his plots “could be found on an episode of ‘CSI’ or ‘Law & Order.’ ” He’s merely happy to take credit for doing what he does very well, which is to write meaty, morally ambiguous, thought-provoking crime novels centered in the seamiest parts of Boston.
No, his explanation for his success is simpler: Pure luck. “I am just the luckiest guy on the planet,” he says. (If you suspect he used a more colorful word than “guy,” you’re right.) “Because I’m Irish, I keep looking at the sky, waiting for it to fall.”
His advice to the student writers in his class is: “If you learn how to write well, to write with depth, cream will rise to the top. You’ll get published.” I’d add in that part about needing some luck from the previous quote. Otherwise, good advice.
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