StayHomeWriMo Public Health DEA Cases and more Counter-Surveillance - 084

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transcript:

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​his week on the Writer's Detective Bureau, StayHomeWriMo, public health, DEA cases and more counter surveillance. I'm Adam Richardson and this is the Writer's Detective Bureau.

Welcome to episode number 84 of the Writer's Detective Bureau, the podcast dedicated to helping authors and screenwriters write professional quality crime-related fiction. This week I'm answering your questions about the new StayHomeWriMo initiative, how law enforcement works during a public health crisis, whether DEA discloses case info to local cops, and how one might spot surveillance in a restaurant.

I need to thank Gold Shield patrons, Debra Dunbar from debradunbar.com, C.C. Jameson from ccjameson.com, Larry Keeton, Vicki Tharp at vickitharpe.com, Chrysann, Larry Darter, Natalie Barelli of nataliebarelli.com, Craig Kingsman of craigkingsman.com, Lynn Vitale and Marco Carocari of marcocarocari.com for their support. And I also need to send a big thank you to my Silver Cuff-link and Coffee Club patrons as well. You can find links to all of the writers supporting this episode by going to the show notes at writersdetective.com/84. And to learn about setting up your own Patreon account for your author business or to support the show for as little as $2 per month, visit writersdetective.com/patreon. P-A-T-R-E-O-N.

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​How quickly the world has changed. How are you holding up? I saw a new take on a popular meme recently and it said, "Introverts, check on your extroverted friends. They are not okay." I am definitely an introvert and would probably love to be self-isolating. I say probably because I'm still working as usual, but if I was in self-isolation mode, I'd seriously consider tackling StayHomeWriMo brought to you by the NaNoWriMo folks. They are posting daily self-care checklist of things to do for yourself while you're stuck inside. Each day has four things to do. Number one is for mental wellbeing, number two is for creative wellbeing, three, social wellbeing, and four, physical wellbeing.

So day one's checklist was for mental wellbeing, put your phone in a drawer for half an hour and give yourself a break from the news and social media. For the creative wellbeing, they gave you a writing prompt. Write about a character who's stuck inside. How do they feel about it? Why are they there? For social wellbeing, write and mail a letter to a friend or a family member. And for physical wellbeing, take note of where the tensest points in your body are. Take three deep breaths while relaxing those muscles. So I'll provide a link to the StayHomeWriMo page in the show notes at writersdetective.com/84 if you'd like to get the daily checklists sent to you.

Also, Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income, who I consider a virtual mentor of sorts, has some great content right now geared toward dealing with the quarantine as an online business owner, which as a writer you are. Pat's showing up every morning on YouTube for a Q and A and he just put out a great video on five things you can lean into to make the most of the new time you have and come out better on the other end. So I'll link to that video in the show notes as well. So watch it when you have a chance and think about how this giant timeout can be viewed as a chance for you to do something you wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. This is you time and we're going to get through this and I can't wait to see what you create.

And if you're just looking for a laugh and a little rabbit hole to go down, follow end NCWHM on Twitter. It's the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. Unlike most places, it's closed right now. So the museum left Tim, their head of security, in charge of the museum's social media account while the museum is closed. Tim's a grandpa and he's learning the ropes of how to use Twitter and he is funny. I'm not really into the whole cowboy thing and it doesn't have anything to do with police work, but I am loving this account and I bet you might as well. So check it out on Twitter at NCWHM if you just want a smile for a bit and help him go viral in a good way. All right, let's get into this week's questions...                                                                                                                                                                    Continue reading...