'Removing those other possibilities'

 

“The best thing that can happen to people entering creative professions is the dwindling of all other possibilities.” –  Dennis Lehane

'Born in Boston on this date in 1965, Lehane has had striking success with both his novels (15) and screenplays (more than two dozen, including for hit series like The Wire and Boardwalk Empire).  His most recent success is the 2025 Apple TV series Smoke.  Many of his own novels also have been made into successful films, led by the multiple award-winning Gone, Baby, Gone and Mystic River. 

 

Lehane said his initial plan was not to be a writer, “But from the moment I took my first writing workshop, I was a writer,” he said.  Since achieving literary success he also has taught writing, including being a writer-in-residence at Eckerd College (Florida) where he has co-directed the Writers in Paradise Conference.  

 

“I love to write,” he said, “so it rarely seems like work - even when it gets arduous.”