Vice work lives in a space where danger, temptation, and moral ambiguity collide. Mark Rein, a retired detective sergeant from Alaska, shares firsthand stories from his career working vice cases. This session gives writers a candid look at how vice units operate and how to portray the risks, complexity, and ethical tension that define this kind of undercover work.
What Really Happens in an Operating Room
Operating rooms are controlled, intense, and nothing like television makes them seem. Practicing orthopedic surgeon Tom Kelso takes writers inside the real OR to explain how procedures actually unfold, what language professionals use, and where fiction most often goes...




