Method acting
He studied in Method acting in the 1960s, a technique which involves total immersion into a character's life, experiences, habits and outlook, and parallels this propensity for in depth research. He has made links between this training and his approach to developing his fictional characters. In the case of his novel "Bad Medicine", which includes a character who is a Native American medicine man, he spent a year with the Sioux People, and participated in traditional ceremonies.