Is Accuracy Overrated?

Filling in for me today is Mark Bergin, a retired police lieutenant, talented writer, and dear friend. Mark generously helped me with research for my short story, "Zebras." I am not the only writer who has benefited from his wisdom and experience. Mark has helped countless others with their stories. He truly embodies what it means to be a good literary citizen, supporting and encouraging us all. He is a remarkable human being, and I'm delighted he's joining us today.

— Stacy Woodson

Is Accuracy Overrated? 

by Mark Bergin

    I am the luckiest man in America. I have been saying that since 2013 after I survived two heart attacks that actually killed me, made me retire from the police force after twenty-eight years—a twist of fate that pushed me to write my first book, published in 2019. Now, I have a four-book contract. And one of the luckiest things about this new writer gig is, I get to talk with people about being a cop all the time.

      I am a big mouth, always have been. When I was a police officer, and a reporter before that, I was communicating with the public about safety and crime and baby seats and all kinds of stuff. Now, I am on panels at conferences, meet new friends, and give out dozens of business cards to writers who want to talk about police procedure—to get it right.

       And I wonder if that is important.

       After all, we are fiction writers. We lie and make up stuff for a living. There is no such person as my detective hero John Kelly (though he sounds a little like me) nor his foil, public defender girlfriend Rachel Cohen (though I married my public defender girlfriend Ruth, who hates the Rachel character).

    I strove hard to make my first book, APPREHENSION, accurate enough that a cop would read it and not find fault, that officers could give it to their families and say, “This is what it’s like out there.” It is about stress and suicide as much as police investigation and trial preparation. Maybe, too much. Maybe, I lost some readers’ interest by so densely packing police factoids— radio codes and case numbers and evidence procedures. I was a first-time author. Four years as a newspaper reporter means nothing in prose.

        But I was proud of my book’s accuracy until about two years after I wrote it, when I drove across a bridge from my Virginia home into Washington, DC. I remembered my description of a fictional pursuit and discovered I had misplaced the Jefferson Memorial, describing it at the end of the I-395 bridge, and not the real spot, a different bridge at Fourteenth Street. The Jefferson Memorial—it’s not little. And nobody ever caught it. Maybe because I had so few readers. 

          Despite that error, I remain committed to working with authors for the sake of their own authenticity. I talk with Sisters in Crime chapters and my local writers group (Royal Writers Secret Society, if you must know). A typical conversation might begin, “Would a police chief be involved in the interview of a murder suspect?” And my answer will start with, “Do you want him to be?” Because in the real world, no. Police chiefs approve budgets and hirings and firings and talk to politicians and kiss babies. They don’t do day-to-day police work. But you, clever writer you are, have a chief who is a main character in your book (instead of a distant loud sound bellowing from a high floor in the police station). So, let’s get him or her into that interrogation room. Is this in a small department where everyone does everything? Is there a blizzard, and she is the only brass available? Is the victim his sister-in-law (which presents its own conflict-of-interest-unlikeliness). But remember, IT’S FICTION. We’re making it up. Do it well enough, no one will question it. 

        Well, okay, maybe some will. 

    I just read a novel with an airplane mistake. (Note from Ed: Don’t make mistakes with airplanes, guns, or cars.) In the novel, a C-130 takes off to the sound of jet engines. No, it doesn’t, the C-130 is a turboprop, not a jet. Do I care?  I love this author, and I forgave him this one, but other times, a mistake like this can take me out of the story and weaken my faith in the storyteller. 

    We read to visit and inhabit new worlds or see ours from new angles with new facts. Mistakes make us doubt information in the story. I gave up on a spy novel recently in which agents playing husband and wife on a train are stopped at a border. “Wife” is taken away, “husband,” placidly, goes on to his destination and later, his headquarters where he reports, “Oh, they took her. I don’t know who.” NO! You’re a spy playing her husband. You fume and fight and make a scene because if you don’t, you’re suspect. Even I know what a real spy would do. So, the rest of this writer’s work became suspect. (Could we make this real? What if the train is in a violently repressive county where the agents are trained not to make waves. There. Done.)

        Would a detective investigate her sister’s murder? Do police encrypt their radios, or switch to cell phones for sensitive communications? Would they drive their own cars on the job? Do cops marry defense attorneys? I’ll answer anything, and very often, the answer becomes the start of a long, exciting back and forth on story and plot and character. I have made so many good friends this way, keeping contact after Left Coast Crime or Bouchercon or Creatures, Crime and Creativity. That’s the best. That’s why I am so lucky. (BTW, the answers to these questions are: no, yes, never, big-time yes.)

Unless that’s not what you want.

      There are some big, common mistakes in fictional police work: 

• Nobody does paperwork (unless you’re in a novel by Michael McGarrity, an ex-cop who gets it right). 

• Everybody loads their gun at the last minute, racking the slide to put a bullet in the chamber as they get out of the car or go through the door. NO. That gun was loaded the moment the cop woke up, maybe even loaded for weeks and locked in a personal safe at night. 

• Cops shoot somebody and go right back out. NO. NO. There is always an investigation during which the cop is on administrative leave, to give her a cooling off period and cover the department’s a—administration against claims of improper supervision. 

• Cops, well everybody, can tuck guns in their belt at the small of the back. NO. NO. NO. Try it. Come to my house. I’ll hand you an unloaded gun. You tuck it under your waistline. In five minutes, the gun is in your buttcrack. In ten, it has already slid down your pants and out your ankle. An easy fix? “Detective Callahan tucked the gun into the holster at the small of his back. There. Done. 

• A cop’s death makes your heroes mad, and they go out and solve things, and  then all is well. NO. NO. NO. NO. It’s so much more than that. It makes them furious, and they go out and rough people up. The death of an officer is a major blow to a department that lasts days and weeks and maybe forever. He or she was a friend and a coworker and a neighbor and a godparent and a boss, and their death reminds you, and your own family, how dangerous and capricious police work can be. Don’t get me wrong. It’s fun, too. Driving fast with lights and sirens, pointing guns at bad guys, making arrests, saving people. But it’s serious business, even if we don’t talk to the public or our kids about it. We should. 

      Writers research, ask questions, observe. Police departments let you go on ride-alongs and have public information officers. And you can always write to me (mbergin01@aol.com). Don’t let research be your enemy. Remember you are a fiction writer.  

      In APPREHENSION, a major scene keyed on the burial of an indigent jail prisoner. I needed that scene to go the way I envisioned—a small crane, a wet and muddy hole, gravediggers who left, cops who stood by. I didn’t know how the city or the sheriff’s office, who runs the jail, handled that, so I never asked. I made it up along reasonable lines of what I knew of city and law enforcement bureaucracies. Did I get it wrong? In six years, I still don’t know.

       Just write. Write it how you want. If your fans nitpick, do it better next time. At least now you know they’re reading you.

***

Mark Bergin spent four years as a newspaper reporter, winning the Virginia Press Association Award for news reporting, before joining the Alexandria, Virginia, Police Department. Twice named Police Officer of the Year for narcotics and robbery investigations, he served in most of the posts described in APPREHENSION, his debut novel. APPREHENSION is being reprinted by Level Best Books as the first in a four-book series called The John Kelly Cases. Book two in the series, SAINT MICHAEL’S DAY will be published this year and was a finalist for the Killer Nashville Claymore Award. His short stories appear in three Anthony Award-nominated anthologies: PARANOIA BLUES, LAND OF 10,000 THRILLS, and SCATTERED, SMOTHERED, COVERED AND CHUNKED. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia and Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Road Tripping: Go Bag for Writers

I can’t believe it’s only a few weeks until Christmas. I’ve been traveling a lot. Between writing retreats, conferences, and vacations with family, my life has been less ho, ho, ho and more go, go, go. On the road, I still try to write whenever I can. So, I created a go bag with the tools I need. 

Here is a look at what’s inside:

Laptop

I love a keyboard. I need it to write. I have tried smaller devices to reduce weight and optimize space. I’ve even tried traveling without my MacBook and always regret it.

Lap Desk

At the Austin Film Festival, I heard a writer and busy mother say that she writes between the seams in her schedule. I feel like my life is the same way. I found a budget-friendly lap desk and write during long drives from the passenger seat, in the carpool line waiting to pick up kids, in coffee shops, and in dinky hotel rooms. 

Refillable Journal

I found this Voyager Refillable Journal in Books to Be Red, an independent bookstore, on Ocracoke Island. It holds three notebooks: lined, dot grid, and blank pages. It is great for research notes, sketching diagrams, and jotting down ideas. The notebooks are small and refillable. Until I found this gem, my note-taking system on the road was random scraps of paper and sending emails to myself which was problematic at best.

Travel Power Strip

I hate playing Twister behind furniture searching for outlets. This USB desktop power strip has been a game changer for me.  I love the outlets are easy to access, and I can charge multiple devices at one time. 

Portable Charger

I’m notorious for forgetting to charge my phone. I often use it as a hotspot when I write. This portable charger has saved me countless times. It is also small and easy to carry.

Snack Pouch

There have been days (I wish more) when the writing has been going well and suddenly, I’m hungry. If I stop to find food, the magic disappears. I keep bags of almonds, dark chocolate, and protein bars with me in a pinch. 

[NOTE: All links provided above are solely for your convenience; I have no financial relationship with the brands or retailers.]

Do you have a go bag for writing? Do you have advice on the best way to write on the road? What tools work for you? 

Please share your ideas in the comments.

***

I am delighted to be a recent guest on Elaine's Literary Salon Podcast. I had the best time chatting with Jeffrey James Higgins, about craft, community, and anthologies. You can listen to the podcast here. I hope you stop by.

Hollywood Kills

Filling in for me today is Alan Orloff, an award-winning author, skilled editor, and generous supporter of the writing community. I am deeply honored to be a contributor to his newest project.

— Stacy

Here's more on HOLLYWOOD KILLS.

***

Thanks, Stacy, for inviting me to guest blog today about an anthology that Adam Meyer and I co-edited called HOLLYWOOD KILLS (Level Best Books). And thanks, Stacy, for the terrific story you wrote for it!

— Alan Orloff

The Idea

Adam and I were at the Malice Domestic convention, chatting in the lobby. (FWIW, the lobby and the bar at writers conventions are where most great ideas are hatched.) We talked about putting together an anthology with a theme based around a movie. That morphed into a more general Hollywood theme, and after a few minutes batting around possibilities, we came up with the killer twist: All the stories would be written by industry insiders (show biz people!) featuring protagonists in roles that the contributors themselves had experience in. In other words, a screenwriter would write about a screenwriter, an actor would write about an actor, a stuntman would write about a stuntman, and so on.

The twist was uber cool, but it presented some challenges as we put together our list of invitees. We knew a lot of crime fiction writers, and we could have assembled a list thirty people long in ten minutes flat. But we needed people who had worked in the business. Immediately, I thought of Tom Hanks, but I was pretty sure he wasn’t available.

The Pitch

We wanted our stories to have a certain theme/tone: desperate people willing to go to extreme lengths to make it big in Hollywood. Here’s the spiel we used to solicit our invitees:

Over the years, the technology of entertainment has changed, but one thing has stayed the same: Hollywood is a place full of dreamers—from the wide-eyed actor hoping to land the role of a lifetime to the hard-working writer trying to sell that breakout script.

Whoever they are, these people have one thing in common—they are desperate to bring their dreams to fruition, hustling for opportunity, and willing to do anything to get to the next rung on the ladder. Legal or not.

These strivers are at the center of a collection of short stories by Hollywood insiders, who use their wealth of experience to turn fact into fiction. They offer a closeup look at the dark side of ambition with an all-star cast of schemers, dreamers, killers and con artists … and their stories will stick with you long after the credits roll.

L➙R Jon Lindstrom, Matt Goldman, Stacy Woodson,
Alan Orloff, Adam Meyer, Ellen Byron, Eric Beetner, John Shepphird

The Lineup

We knew a few writers with show biz experience (a number of whom were screenwriters, natch), so they were no-brainers to invite. Beyond that, we needed help, so we put out the word we were looking for potential contributors that met our narrow criteria. We were determined to have as wide an array of show biz jobs represented as possible.

Some of the more specialized roles were tricky. Did anyone know a Hollywood hairdresser who wanted to write a story? Makeup professional to the stars with an itch to pen a tale? What about a stunt driver who could write like Elmore Leonard? We tried to get creative—we even contacted several professional societies looking for recommendations (Did you know there was a Stuntwoman’s Association? There is!). Not all of our out-of-the-box ideas were fruitful, alas.

Slowly, we suckered enticed people to contribute. Now, while many of these people had great Hollywood experience, some did not have much (if any) short story writing experience. Adam and I realized that for these folks, we might have to wield a slightly heavier editorial pen.

And it was true: we got commitments from several industry veterans who didn’t have writing experience. Unfortunately, though, when it came time to actually put the proverbial pen to paper, some of these people ended up “decommitting.” Which left us scrambling a bit to fill their slots.

Best laid plans, and all that.

With some persistence, we finally assembled a killer lineup of contributors, whose roles ran the gamut: a producer, sitcom writer, character actor, entertainment lawyer, sound mixer, background actor, aspiring actor, stuntman, casting director, soap opera star, true crime writer, editor, director, production assistant, set caterer, and screenwriting team.

We ended up with three first-time short story writers, and they gave us some great work. Two of our stories were co-written, one of which was a story I co-wrote with my actor son (roles: young actor and desperate father). A definite highlight of my writing career!

We were thrilled (and mightily impressed) that our contributors had worked on such notable productions as Cheers, Seinfeld, Wings, General Hospital, Bosch, The Amazing Race, Boston Legal, Homeland, Just Shoot Me, Fairly Odd Parents, Snowfall, Spenser For Hire, True Detective, Ellen, America’s Most Wanted, Evil Kin, A Savage Nature, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, The Invasion, Young Guns, and more.

You’ll recognize many of the contributors from their screen credits: Jon Lindstrom, Gary Phillips, Phoef Sutton, Ellen Byron, Matt Goldman, Robert Rotstein, Wendall Thomas, Stacy Woodson, Tiffany Borders Plunkett, Kathryn O’Sullivan, Paul Awad, Teel James Glenn, Shawn Reilly Simmons, John Shepphird, Eric Beetner, Adam Meyer, Alan Orloff, and Stuart Orloff.

The Fires

Although this blog post dealt primarily with how the contributors were selected, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the California fires. More than half of our contributors currently live in the LA area, and they, along with everybody else, were affected by the wildfires, directly and indirectly. So, we decided that all contributor proceeds would be donated to the California Community Foundation Wildfire Recovery Fund. For a deeply personal take, I encourage you to read Ellen Byron’s moving introduction to the anthology.

If you’d like your very own copy of HOLLYWOOD KILLS, you can check it out here.

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Alan Orloff (www.alanorloff.com) has published fourteen novels and more than sixty short stories. His work has won an Anthony, an Agatha, a Derringer, and two ITW Thriller Awards. He’s also been a finalist for the Shamus Award and has had a story selected for Best American Mystery Stories 2018. He’s adapted two of his novels into screenplays, and, man, is he desperate to make it big in Hollywood.

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Bouchercon Waffle Report

And the Anthony award for best anthology goes to... 

Tales of  Music, Murder, and Mayhem, edited by Heather Graham.

The convention anthology took home the Anthony this year. It is filled with amazing stories written by talented authors.

Still, it was disappointing news, not only for our Scattered, Smothered, Covered, and Chunked siblings, but for Murder Neat’s SleuthSayers as well. 

After the awards ceremony, writers offered heartfelt “literary condolences” to our Waffle-clan, and I appreciated their thoughtful remarks. Later, as the dust settled on our syrup bottle (so to speak), I reflected on the convention and our amazing contributors with a tremendous sense of gratitude. Scattered, Smothered, Covered, and Chunked may not have won the Anthony, but our contributors won in many other ways.

Connection

At the convention, our Waffle-writers connected with attendees, creating buzz about the anthology and joyful energy. They shared waffle-inspired swag on giveaway tables and at the author speed dating event. Convention-goers wore waffle charms on their badges and recounted personal Waffle House stories. An editor asked if a second anthology was planned because she had a client who wanted to be part of it. 

Fifty copies of the anthology in the book room were gone before the conference concluded. The bookstore sold out. And our auction basket, Breakfast with a Side of Crime, was popular, too.

Visibility

During the Anthony mixer, I had a chance to talk about the anthology and was honored to mention each of our contributors.

Leading up to the convention, Tammy Euliano’s story, “Heart of Darkness,” won the Derringer Award for best short story, an award she received at Bouchercon’s opening ceremonies.

 Waffle Swag with Tammy Euliano

Sean McCluskey’s story, “The Secret Menu,” was selected for inclusion in The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2025, edited by John Grisham.

We may have lost the Anthony award, but the visibility our authors received and the connections we made with readers were priceless.

***

Anthony awards with Tammy Euliano, J.D. Allen
Andrew Welsh-Huggins, & Bonnar Spring

 

Want to learn more about Scattered, Smothered, Covered, and Chunked—the birth of an idea and what it’s like working as a co-editor with short story legend, Michael Bracken? Check out this SleuthSayers post from May.

Learning to Give and Receive Critique

Filling in for me today is Tom Milani, one of my amazing critique partners. He graciously reads my short fiction before submission. He truly has a gift for highlighting ways to improve story and delivering feedback in a collaborative way. His thoughtful notes have elevated my work. I’m delighted he is joining us today to discuss the art of critique.

— Stacy Woodson

Learning to Give and Receive Critique

by Tom Milani

For new writers or writers new to critique groups, reviewing the work of others (and having their own work reviewed) can be hard. I’ve been in writing groups for over thirty years, and I was a technical editor for nearly that long. As a result, I have a lot of experience giving critiques of other people’s writing and receiving critiques of my own. Here, I’ll go over what I’ve found works for me. These aren’t hard-and-fast rules, but I hope these lessons I’ve learned will be helpful.

Dealing with Comments on Your Work

Members of the critique group I belong to typically send a Microsoft Word file with their changes tracked. (If you’re not familiar with Word’s Track Changes function, it’s worth exploring because many acquiring editors will expect you to know how to use it.) I go through each member’s edits and notes separately. I’ll open a file but make notes on my hard copy. (You could do the same thing electronically, but because I’m working on a small laptop, hard copy is easier for me.) I correct typographical and grammatical errors right away. If there are comments, I’ll often note those on the page. In doing so, I’ll find issues that several people have flagged. What if I get conflicting opinions about an aspect of my story? Here, I consider the numbers. If seven people out of eight people point out a potential problem, chances are I should look at the text again. But if the opinions are evenly divided, then I’ll go with my own judgment.

In an ideal world (or writing group), the comments I receive will be given in a constructive, nonconfrontational matter. What happens if the comments are delivered with snark, or worse? Here’s what I do when my work gets criticism that feels personal. I read the comments. I read them again. And again. I continue rereading until they no longer provoke an emotional reaction in me. Then, I look at the substantive portions of the comments. Are they valid? If so, I address them in rewrites. If not, I ignore them. Regardless of how the comments are given, I make a point to remember that someone took the time to read my work and offer an opinion about it.

Critiquing the Work of Others

I read an article on editing that suggested making critiques using passive voice. It’s a nonconfrontational method of pointing out problems. I used it successfully in my professional career and find it works as well with fiction writing.

If I see a problem in work I’m reading, I’ll frame my comments in passive voice. For example: “The text on this page feels like it spends a lot of time describing this character’s appearance, but this is the only scene in which she appears.” Here, the comment is directed not at the writer, but at the text itself. There’s nothing personal in the comment—I’m not questioning why the author wrote what he did—instead, we’re both working to solve a problem. It’s a simple switch in mindset, but one I feel causes the author to look at the comments with greater objectivity. Similarly, if I suggest a rewording, I’ll give a reason for the suggestion and generally follow that with some version of “your words will be better.” I’m not trying to rewrite the author’s prose but to point out where something is confusing or unclear to me. My rewording is an attempt to tease out the meaning that the author intended, while honoring the author’s voice.

What if I’m asked to critique a piece, and I don’t know the conventions of the genre? In that case, I focus on those aspects of the writing that need to be correct, regardless of genre—grammar, spelling, punctuation, and internal consistency—and if something is confusing or unclear, I’ll point it out (again, using passive voice).

Other Benefits

Critiquing other people’s work makes me look at my own writing with a more critical eye. Recognizing how well an author planned a plot twist or admiring how the varied pacing in a story maintained tension has led me to incorporate those elements into my own work.

But an even greater benefit is contributing to the writing community at large. Being a member of a critique group is one way to be a good literary citizen. My experience with the crime fiction community is that it’s supportive and generous—and being a good critique partner is one way to pay that generosity forward.

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Tom Milani’s short fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in several anthologies, including Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir volumes 5 and 6. “Barracuda Backfire,” his novella, is Book 4 of Michael Bracken’s Chop Shop series and was shortlisted for a Derringer award. His short story, "Mill Mountain" was featured this week in Black Cat Weekly, and Places That Are Gone, his debut novel, was released on May 13, 2025.

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An Anthology is Born

It started with one hula hoop, eight writers drinking S.J. Rozan-inspired martinis all basking in ShortCon’s afterglow…

Dan White & S.J. Rozan with her Signature Martini

There is something magical that happens when writers gather after a conference.

Maybe, it’s because of how we are wired. Maybe, it’s because of the creative energy that still lingers in the air—and we had plenty of it this year, thanks to the incredible presentations by S.J. Rozan, Jeffrey Marks, and Michael Bracken. Being together ignites our imaginations and fosters inspiration.

At Elaine’s Literary Salon that night was no different.

Conversations about the conference turned to hula hoops. I am still not sure what sponsored the now-infamous hula hoop-moment between Dan White and S.J. Rozan and the deep dive into iconic playground games and equipment that quickly followed.

Like so many similar moments when crime fiction writers are together, snippets of story ideas began bouncing around like a gaggle of kids on pogo sticks: hopscotch and chalk-lined bodies, Double-Dutch turned deadly, butt-burning metal slides, death-defying jumps from swings, and tether ball clashes. Some, reimagined the Tony Sopranos of the sandbox-world uttering,“What happens in the sandbox stays in the sandbox.” I can still hear the New Jersey-accent playing in my head.

We also discovered just like “regional words” exist for carbonated drinks (soda, pop, Coke), names for playground equipment vary, too: Seesaws or Teeter-Totters, Monkey bars or Horizontal Ladders, Spinners or Merry-Go-Rounds or Roundabouts, Spring Riders or Spring Rockers.

And the list goes on.

Others recounted playground politics and social hierarchies, what it felt like to be fearless, what it felt like to desperately want to be accepted—all of us reliving nostalgic and not so nostalgic moments from our childhood.

Less than an hour later, short story legend (aka Michael Bracken) roughed out a proposal for a crime fiction anthology where a piece of playground equipment or a playground game plays an important role. These had to exist on old-school playgrounds, where the playground was was made of asphalt and the equipment was made of metal, which likely meant these stories would be set in the past or in the present with flashbacks or in neighborhoods that had not upgraded to modern, safe playground equipment.

Michael Bracken
exhausted by the "Idea Fairy"

And just like that, Playground Noir: For the Kids Who Never Grew Up, was born.

Michael was surrounded by his list of contributors. He also had a publisher in mind.

As I write this post today, Michael has already pitched his proposal and awaits a response.

My key takeaways from that night at Elaine's:

Crime fiction writers are all a little twisted. Thank God, we have each other.

The best story ideas happen when writers gather to enjoy one another’s company.

It’s important to stick around after conferences and connect with fellow writers. You never know what is going to happen. You may become a contributor in an upcoming anthology.

***

Stacy Woodson with Dan White

Want to make space for your own hula-hoop moment?

ShortCon 2026 is just around the corner.

Hosted by Michael Bracken, the conference will be held at Elaine's Literary Salon in Alexandria, Virginia on June 6, 2026.

Gary Phillips will lead a three-hour writing workshop on “Blueprinting Criminal Behavior.”

Michele Slung will present “Every Moment is a Story,” a behind-the-scenes look at putting together annual best-of collections.

Art Taylor will discuss “Linked, Intertwined, or Seamless: The Curious Case of the Novel in Stories.”

I will also lead an end-of-day panel discussion with the presenters. Registration opens in July.

You can find it here: https://www.eastcoastcrime.com/#/.

Hope to see you there!

How Do You Prepare to Write?

Last year, I had a difficult time writing. Even the stuck list I discussed in a previous guest post wasn’t working for me. With deadlines approaching and no creative gas in the tank, I started to worry and reached out to a friend. 

She asked me a simple question. “How do you prepare to write?”

I told her about my perfectly fine-tuned scheduled, how I juggled writing between other commitments and my lengthy to-do list. When I had a window of time, I sat behind my desktop, laptop, cellphone (whatever electronic device I had at my disposal), and that’s when I would write.

She laughed (in a kind way) and said, “Maybe that's your problem.” 

She suggested I try meditation. It was my turn to laugh. I had tried meditation and thoughts bounced around my head like Tigger in the Hundred Acre Wood. She suggested journaling. (I didn’t laugh this time because it would have been rude.) I never liked journaling. It felt like an excuse not to put “real words” on the page. I thanked her, filed her recommendations away, and returned to my Barnum and Bailey’s approach to life, determined to do “all the things,” without success. Until one blessed morning I had a mental break through. 

Maybe it happened because it was still early. Maybe it happened because I was in the shower, and it was quiet. I was standing under the water, going through my mental checklist for the day (maximizing my time, and winning, right?), when it hit me, the note behind my friend’s advice. My problem was mental clutter.

Mental Clutter

I love the way Amarie writes about this idea in her article on Medium: “Imagine the mind is like a web browser. Each thought, task, and worry is an open tab screaming for your attention. Some tabs may be for work, others for personal stuff, and others may be random anxieties. When too many tabs are open, everything slows down, and it’s hard to get anything done.” 

My friend was right. My perfectly optimized schedule wasn’t optimized at all. My life had turned into a game of whack-a-mole. The fifteen minute windows I had taken so much pride in leveraging were opening more tabs, draining my focus, and slowing me down. More than that, it was suffocating my creativity because I didn’t have space to think, imagine, or let my mind wander.

I talked to Michael Bracken about the challenges I’d been experiencing, and he pointed me to Cal Newport’s book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World.

Deep Work

Cal Newport defines deep work as “focusing without distraction on a cognitively demanding task.” Context shifts (interruptions, checking email, social media) degrade your cognitive effectiveness. He explains that deep work is important because deep efforts are what move the needle, especially in knowledge work like creative writing. 

To perform at an optimal level, he recommends the following: engage in deep work, embrace boredom, abandon social media, and eliminate unnecessary tasks. (He talks about this more on his YouTube Channel.) Armed with Cal Newport’s insights and recommendations from my friend, I decided my approach to writing in 2025 would be different. 

Time Blocking

In the evenings I mapped out my schedule for the following day, rearranging tasks, creating longer blocks of time to write, taking a mindful approach to deep work tasks and measuring their outcome. I discovered this focused approach helped reduce the chaos I felt in the past and helped me focus during writing windows. 

Strategically Check Email, Social Media, & the News

I also blocked time in my schedule for checking email, social media, and reading the news—trying my best to do these activities after deep work sessions knowing they would trigger “open tab, open tab moments” and weigh me down. I also blocked email and social media during writing windows and left my phone on a table outside my office door, close enough to hear if the school called but far enough away so I couldn’t reach for it reflexively.

Know My Why

Roni Loren, an amazing performance coach, reminded me that when I say “yes” to something, I say “no” to my writing. It was sobering, and it has stayed with me. I have tried to look at new opportunities and consider them with this outcome in mind.

Prepare to Write

In order to take advantage of deep work blocks of time, I started journaling—morning pages to clear away the noise. I will start a bigger project soon. As an experiment, I have decided to try evening pages—brainstorming scenes I intend to write the following morning to prepare. I also made reading a priority again. It had fallen to the wayside when things were soul-crushingly busy, and I needed to read in order to write. I tried meditation again, two minutes each morning before I started writing. I focused on my breathing, and the difference it made was remarkable.

White Space

I started prioritizing white space on my calendar. I took the dog for a walk in the woods, no headphones, no recording device. I went for a run. Some of the best ideas I’ve had this year came during moments when I left my productivity expectations behind.

How do you prepare to write? Have you tried deep work? What productivity tips do you have for writers? 

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My story “Mary Poppins Didn’t Have Tattoos” is now featured on Rabia Chaudry's acclaimed podcast, The Mystery Hour. At the end of the reading, Rabia skillfully connects elements of the story to real-life true crime events. I'm delighted with the final result. I hope you feel the same. Check it out on your favorite podcast app.

The Power of Reviews

I am delighted to be the newest member of the SleuthSayers community! Over the years, I have learned so much from posts written by this esteemed group. It is an honor to be a contributor and share what I have learned during my writing journey.

It’s Valentine’s Day, and I’m going to talk about love, LITERARY LOVE, the kind we can spread by writing thoughtful reviews while, at the same time, giving a little literary love to ourselves.

Here’s more on my experience with the power of reviews.

Writing Reviews

When I began writing, I wanted to understand what made a story great. I’m an avid reader, but I realized learning craft through reading wasn’t enough. I needed a deliverable with a deadline. When I was offered an opportunity to review books for Publisher’s Weekly, it was exactly what I needed, and I accepted. This set the stage for my writing career.

Publisher’s Weekly has specific style guidelines for their reviews, and I learned how to analyze books and convey my overall impression in a tight and succinct way. Page citations were required for proper names, major plot points, and other details that substantiated my conclusions. 

This deep dive taught me about structure, how to develop character, the importance of stakes, and how to use conflict to keep readers engaged. I learned why some stories held together and reasons why others fell apart. The experience not only taught me to read with purpose, but writing the review helped me internalize lessons that I later applied to my own stories.

It has been years since I contributed to the magazine, but I still write reviews, both novels and short fiction. They aren’t public. I keep a reading journal with lists of interesting twists, setups and payoffs, character motivations, and unique approaches to story structure. There are also notes about stories that didn’t resonate with me. Both provide learning opportunities that are helpful.

Reading Reviews

Reading reviews has taught me a lot, too. We are fortunate to have wonderful contributors in our community who write reviews and essays that are mini masterclasses in storytelling.

Art Taylor’s, “The First Two Pages,” is a great resource. The blog series, originally created by B.K. Stevens, hosts craft essays by short story writers and novelists who analyze the opening of their own work. In “Little Big Crimes,” Rob Lopresti reviews his favorite short stories each week. He is a talented writer and editor, an avid reader, and former librarian. If a story makes his blog, you know it’s something special. 

Lifting up the Community

Anne van Doorn and Ed Ridgley review short stories on Facebook. I look for their posts each week and discover new writers this way.

Kevin Tipple is also dedicated to shining a light on short fiction. Through his blog, "Kevin's Corner," and social media posts, he is always promoting authors from the short fiction community.

Recently, I was working on a story that was crushing my soul. We’ve all had them, right? A friend forwarded a review of one of my stories that I hadn’t seen. It was an unexpected gift from the universe and reminded me that I could still do this thing called writing.

I would be remiss if I didn’t touch on the dark side of reviews. Of course they are out there. However, I believe when we review stories by fellow writers, we have a responsibility to highlight the positive, to lift up each other, and should share our perspectives with this in mind.

Have you written reviews? Do you keep a reading journal? Have reviews influenced your writing? 

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Speaking of reviews, if you want to learn about my latest short story, “A Rose for a Rose,” from Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir Vol. 5, edited by Michael Bracken, check out Ed Ridgley’s recent review on Short Mystery Fiction Society.