Many writers think ‘brief’ these days. Short fiction is popular both on the internet and in print and whether you call it flash, postcard or micro fiction it all comes down to your story’s bottom line: reduce your work to its barest bones.One guideline is to eliminate literary devices. We are told that although we may write: “He was Usain Bolt in his running shoes, sprinting towards the hospital.” This is a no-no in flash. Change this to: He sprinted to the hospital. You just went from eleven to five words. This advice saves the writer six precious words. It also ups the story’s pace, intensifying the drama and focus and flash fiction is nothing if not about focus. What about the meaning of the story? Has it changed? If the writer is pulling in a metaphor for speed willy nilly from anywhere, then no, nothing has changed. (If the writer...

When I submit my short stories should I hide my Israellocation? This is a real question participants in my classes ask me. Most often these writers use an American address of a relative or the address of a friend overseas in their submissions. They genuinely believe that an address in Israel lowers their chances of acceptance in literary magazines and journals and, as the odds are already so stacked against new writers, they figure: who needs the handicap of an Israeladdress? I admit that it never occurred to me to alter my Israeli address in my submissions and I’ve been submitting stories since 2005. Is this naive? I don’t think so.  If a publication does not want to print my story because I live in Israel, I do not want to be published by that publication. Is that too simple? So, how have I answered these writers? I tell them the...

In the last two days I’ve been asked how I get ideas for writing stories. Two nights ago at a PTA meeting just before the homeroom teacher asked me if I’d come in and speak (again) to the girls. And the next day at an open house for my daughter’s ballet class. I don’t get ideas, I look for ideas. It can be really hard work. I don’t see why ideas for writers should come from a source any different from ideas for what to make for dinner. For me the latter can also be really hard work. When I have to make dinner on a regular weekday I whip through the kitchen, opening cupboards, vegetable bins, the freezer and dairy drawers: what have I got at hand? The same is true for writing. I consider genre (historical? satirical?), I consider format (should I try for another short story for a...

Five Year Anniversary Observations: Online Literary Devices Class On the eve of completing five years teaching Literary Devices on the WOW-Women on Writing site—three semesters per year—it’s an auspicious time to note my observations and to look for ways to improve. Some observations (note I have rounded the percentages).Participants are overwhelmingly female at ninety-eight per cent. Not a great surprise for a site with the word ‘women’ in the title.Sixty percent are working on a short story, thirty percent on a novel and ten percent on a personal essay.An overwhelming ninety percent are writing in realism (historical fiction, coming-of-age, memoir, romance). Only ten percent write fantasy.The biggest increase in a genre is in the romance genre with a thirty percent increase since 2010! Fully half of my new participants are now writing in the romance genre. Not sure how to explain this. Romance has always been commercially popular.Thirty-eight percent of participants have self-published...

I will be speaking in Hashmonaim  November 20 with my friend and colleague Nicole Nathan.INVITATION: Kislev Reflection & ReadingIt is now Kislev, the month of dreams.  Dreams reflect the hidden light of the soul and open up space to examine and reflect, and the long winter nights provide us with an ideal time to withdraw and read.Join us for an evening of reflection and of light in the darkness preceding Chanukah as two women writers read from their new novels.Originally Canadian, Gila Green and Nicole Nathan have spent much time reflecting and have written novels that examine our spiritual state.Other upcoming dates for Author Talks (email me for final confirmation of dates)Hashmonaim Wednesday November 20Beer Sheva Monday November 25Maaleh Adumim December 7Bar Ilan University May 11-13You are invited! Bring a friend.

Author TalksIf you are in Israel and have a women's group, synagogue, charity, school or other organization that would like to invite me to speak about writing, publishing and/or my novel KING OF THE CLASS or if you'd like me to offer a writing workshop, email me: gila green  @ gmail. com (remove spaces) with 'author talk' in the subject line.I am happy to invite other Israel-based authors to speak with me about our books if you'd like to offer a group talk to your audience.Part of the proceeds will be donated to charity.

Watch the WOW site for details of my January 6 virtual Flash Fiction and Literary Devices classes.

Don’t forget to make a post-novel plan. What do you want to do now that your novel’s been out for a while? Write a new novel? Go on a book tour? Go back to your day job? Try a new genre? This is especially important if you are anything like me i.e., flounders without specific goals.Don’t respond to criticism. It’s an absurd expectation to think you will write a book that appeals to everyone. Thank them for reading your work and move on. Some comments might be indecipherable. One reader told me that I was admired and talented and then went on to write that the best thing for me would be to write a novel that had no Jews, no Israel and nothing to do with any religion whatsoever. That would be a book to read, if I’d only write it! Umm. Thanks. I think.   Don’t check Amazon’s author central...

I’ve been publishing short stories since 2006, but this year my debut novel King of the Class was released by a small literary Vancouver publisher (www.nonpublishing.com).I’ve received many questions from debut authors mostly asking ‘what worked.’ Here are ten things that worked for me. Ten things I’ve learned four months after publishing my first novel King of the ClassTarget freelancers for reviews. I spent hours emailing publications I felt shared my target audience. Hands-down most of them ignored me or sent me polite ‘no’ emails. When I discovered the freelancers who sell regularly to these publications, I had far more success. Find them by clicking on contributors’ names.  Only no means no. Perseverance works. No answer does not mean no. Once in a while I’d get an email: “Good for you for not giving up. I was so busy with X, but now I’d be happy to read your book”. Everybody...

My new story, Mother, Daughter, Mercenary forthcoming September 2013 with Noir Nation (crime fiction) and Still Life with Father in Arc Magazine forthcoming from the Israel Association of Writers in English.

King of the Class by Gila Green Vancouver: Now or Never Publishing, 2013; $19.95. 237 pages. ISBN: 978-1-92694-214-8 Reviewed by Julie Anne Levin In her gripping and heartfelt first novel, King of the Class, Gila Green sets a timeless tale of love and religion in a politically and technologically futuristic Israel. Among cyber pets and hoverboards, a self-proclaimed nonreligious woman, Eve, is guided by supernatural connections through a plot maze that includes a difficult marriage and her only son’s disappearance. Tapping deeply into the experience of motherhood, Green’s most moving moments depict a mother’s relationship to her unborn child’s soul and, then, to her young son. The story also convincingly examines the sometimes healthy and sometimes disturbing sacrifices parents make to serve their children.This fast-paced novel is set in an Israel in which the twostate solution refers not to Israel and Palestine (a situation only briefly mentioned in the book), but...

Sign up for Flash, Literary Devices I, Literary Devices IIhttp://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/WOWclasses.html#GilaGreen_FlashFictionWorkshop

Gila Green's King of the Class is at once a bold and unflinching examination of love and faith in harrowing conflict, while at the same time a spellbindingly suspenseful tale that kept this reader breathlessly turning pages. The book clearly heralds the debut of a brave talent and brilliant entertainer.  Steve Stern author of The Wedding Jester, The Frozen Rabbi, The Book of MischiefAs a chronicler of contemporary Israeli religious life I think Green has no rival. She tells the stories from the born again trenches without the heavenly jingles and praise the Lord sighs. This is the spiritual equivalent of a soldier’s memoir from the Iraq War. Jarhead for the religious crowd.  The last hundred and fifty pages of thriller are page-turners, and it is no small feat to turn the religious lives of a few thousand Israelis into a drama you could make into a movie of the week.Atar Hadari, The Antigonish ReviewGila Green’s...

King of the Class now available on Amazon

Today I'm taking part in an exciting blog hop. Thank you Vicki Taylor for the invitation.What is a blog hop? For those of you unfamiliar with the term, here is THE NEXT BIG THING’s original blurb:“THE NEXT BIG THING is designed to raise awareness of our work, or work in progress. We do that by answering ten questions about it. We graciously thank the person who nominated us, and tag four to six other authors whose work could very well be THE NEXT BIG THING.”So let’s get this show on the road!What is the working title of your next book?Title: King of the Class.Where did the idea come from for the book? My idea initiated with my desire to write about the vulnerability of kids who do not fit into a box in the Israeli school system and I began with a family: parents + three children. I quickly felt that...

My new short story "Roller Coaster" will be published in Jewish Fiction (winter 2013).

Quick Brown FoxBe a Better Writer

NEW: An excerpt from my satirical novel, King of the Class, was short-listed for the 2011 Summer Literary Seminars Contest.

In this wise, instructive ebook Gila Green draws on her journalistic experience

"The piece you helped me with won second prize in the Moment Memoir Writing Contest (2011). Thank you for putting your wonderful, critical eye to it," C.L. Israel."Great news! The Paris Review took the excerpt," Jill Sadowsky, Raanana, Israel. "Urim Publiations has accepted my book. Thank you so much for your editing skills and advice," Cheryl Levi, Beit Shemesh, Israel."Nachas Magazine not only took my story, but offered me a regular writing position. All thanks to your hard work," Simchi Gluck, Jerusalem, Israel."You really do give excellent feedback;I've learned a lot and the stories you have edited for me are being published in Hamodia." Rhona Lewis, Beit Shemesh, Israel.

We have won an honorable mention award for the best Leadership Editorial in the USA section of the International College of Dentists (ICD) Journalism 2009 Award competition. As the copy editor for ICD Magazine I wish to thank the committee chairman and the publisher.

I’ve taken a lot of writing courses through different groups, and by far yours have all been the most beneficial. I loved this Flash course. The most important lesson I learned is just how incredibly difficult it is to write good flash fiction. I learned about many new tools that I can use in future writings. ~ Kathryn SchleichHere's what I loved about Gila's class:I felt safe (of paramount importance as a writer and as me)I felt my questions and contributions were valuedI received no-nonsense feedback and advice from youThe assignments were well presented and well preparedThe information within each assignment was incredibly useful and not overwhelmingHere's what I loved about Gila as an instructor:You always took the time to answer my questions, even the ones that were more personally orientedYou are direct and have realistic expectations of studentsYou are encouraging and supportiveYou know your stuffMy personal thanks to you for...

I've only written ten pages of a manuscript and I'm stuck. Can you help? Yes. I help with manuscripts at all stages of development. You'd be surprised how quickly we can get you unstuck. Do you help with query letters to agents and publishers? Yes. I have more than a dozen years of query letter writing experience.  My manuscript is complete, but it needs editing. Can you help? Yes. I offer copy editing and conceptual editing services. Should I self publish or traditional? As a general rule, self-publishing is more effective for non-fiction and/or for professionals who are writing a companion book for workshops, seminars and so on. I want to plan a relaxing, fun retreat and I need something stimulating, and expressive with a wide appeal. Can you help? Yes. I offer seminars and workshops to broad audiences of all levels. Can you organize a live workshop in Israel? Absolutely. I've offered workshops in Jerusalem,...

Canadian author Gila Green is an Israel-based writer, editor and EFL teacher. Her first novel is King of the Class (NON Publishing, Vancouver, 2013). Her collection White Zion is forthcoming from Cervena Barva Press (W. Sommerville, MA). Gila's short fiction appears in dozens of literary magazines in the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, Israel, Ireland and Hong Kong including: The Fiddlehead (forthcoming), Akashic Books, Fiction Magazine, The Saranac Review, Arc Magazine, Many Mountains Moving, Noir Nation, Quality Women's Fiction, The Dalhousie Review, Jewish Fiction, and Boston Literary Review. Her work has been short listed for the Doris Bakwin Literary Award (Carolina Wren Press), WordSmitten's TenTen Fiction Contest, twice for the Walrus Literary Award, twice for the Eric Hoffer Best New Writing Award and the Ha'aretz Short Fiction Award. Gila's fellowships include the Summer Literary Seminars Program (Montreal). She has lived in Ottawa, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Johannesburg, Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem.  

Congratulations! You are one step closer to reaching your writing and publishing goals. You will soon be able to explore practical steps that you can take towards mastering the craft of fiction writing. I am confirming your order which will be sent to the e-mail address on the order form. Every attempt will be made to fill your order within 24 hours. However, it could take up to 72 hours due to holidays and weekends (if your order was placed close to that time frame.)I welcome your feedback. Please send it to me through www.gilagreenonline.com

I am teaching Creative Writing (short fiction) at Touro College (Jerusalem) this fall (2007).

My short story "Half Sisters" has been accepted to The Pilot Project in Toronto. Look for it in Pilot Book 3 due out November, 2007. "Half Sisters" is part of my short story collection, White Zion."Under the Third Canopy" is now a novel titled "Miriam and Nathaniel."I am working on a new wedding-theme collection.