CURTAIN CALL

Michael and Lynda Leamy taught for some four decades. Michael taught, among other subjects, creative writing and drama. It is no wonder that those two should merge in his writing process. In theater, characters perform a series of scenes that present the story. The interactions of the characters weave details against the backdrop of scenery, drawing the audience into the tension of the tale.

While some authors plaster storyboards on the wall above the desk that enslaves them, or fill notebooks with character profiles, Michael does not. He goes to the theater of his mind. He does his period research, discovering events and historic people of the era where his story is to be set, imagines characters, and has them take their places on the stage of imagination. He gives them one stage instruction: IMPROVISE. In theater, improv is a fun and fascinating exercise. The story develops as the characters follow the lead of the others.

In this writing method, Michael simply tries to keep up with the story as it rolls out like an ancient scroll. He employs only enough description to lend authenticity, and leaves it to the reader to imagine the characters with minimal detail included on the pages. His stories are carried by dialog, and the reader is drawn into the action and emotion of the written drama. The author is as surprised as the reader at the conclusion of the account...and as satisfied.