'Boardwalk Empire' Writer Dennis Lehane Shares Secrets of His Success

"Ego is for small gods."

This is best-selling author, television and screenwriter Dennis Lehane's take on the need to leave ego behind during the creative process, especially when working in a group like the writers' room on a TV show. Lehane has firsthand knowledge of this dynamic, since he's been part of the writing staff for two Emmy-nominated HBO series, The Wire and Boardwalk Empire.

Lehane shared these insights during an Oct. 9 speaking engagement at Capital University in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio.

Lehane's novels have garnered critical acclaim and been adapted into feature films, including Mystic River; Gone, Baby, Gone; Shutter Island, and, most recently, The Drop.

He has won numerous honors, including the 2013 Edgar Award for Best Novel of the Year for his 2012 book, Live By Night. That novel is also soon to be adapted into a movie with Ben Affleck and Zoe Saldana.

Dennis Lehane greeted fans and signed books after
his Oct. 9 talk at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.

During his Capital University appearance, Lehane shared anecdotes about growing up in a working-class Irish family in Boston and related the following insights about the writing process, the publishing industry, and the TV and movie business:

Writing is an often frustrating yet ultimately rewarding process: "You write a lot of failed drafts. ... You don't know the good ideas until you've written enough bad ones. The idea that obsesses you... you hold on for dear life no matter how hard it is."

He's very selective about selling the movie rights to his books: "I control one thing, and that's who I sell it to. I'm really picky about who I sell it to ... I've been really lucky."

Many of his books and movies weren't immediate hits:
"A lot of things I've worked on have built a reputation. Nobody watched The Wire. ... That's a been a theme in my work, is something that builds in reputation rather than makes a big splash." 

He doesn't intend for every book he writes to be turned into a movie: "Any Given Day is not for film. I wrote it as my 'anti-film' book. That's why it's 700 pages. ... It's meant to be read, it's meant to be a book you invest in."  

He doesn't read other books in his genre of crime fiction: "I read mostly nonfiction. I read mostly for research purposes. It's very rare that I read for pleasure anymore, which is sad."

 

Despite all of his success, he couldn't impress his father: When Lehane's father visited the set of Mystic River, "he says, 'None of this is real and they're all here because of you?' I said, 'Yes.' He said, 'Do you ever think of going back to teaching?'"