I read a lot of Flash Fiction. Over the years I’ve noticed that some writers continuously flounder over these common misconceptions and mistakes. If you’re trying to master the art of Flash Fiction writing, these eight “don’ts” might help you jump up to the next level. Don’t approach Flash Fiction as though it’s just a very short story. Flash has its own set of rules and the king of those rules is this: you have no time. This means spending the first eight lines on background and leaving minimal space for any action to occur is sure to flop. Don’t do it. Flash Fiction is supremely brief. But the buck stops there. You can write non-fiction flash, romance flash, fantasy flash and any other genre you feel passionate about. For some reason many of the submissions I receive in my Flash Fiction courses forget all about genre, so focused are they...

Flash Fiction  (8 weeks) Create Memorable Writing with Literary Devices  (6 weeks) Create Memorable Writing with Literary Devices II  (6 weeks) Publish Your Short Story  (4 weeks)

Hi, Gila! Hope you are well. Just wanted you to know about a flash market that’s very writer-friendly, a good place to land for some of your flash students who are looking for their first publishing credit (or have a good piece that doesn’t seem to fit with other markets):  Every Day Fiction .  I just had a piece published there ( http://www.everydayfiction. com/campaign-button-by-joyce- barton/ ), and here was my experience: -Their response time was reasonable (90 days is their max; I heard from them in 88) -All 6 of their editors gave me comments/feedback on my story. -I was given the opportunity to make changes based on the feedback before publication, if I wished to do so (had a nice back-and-forth with one of the editors and added a sentence as a result) -Readers can comment and rate your story (1 to 5 stars), and the writer has the opportunity...

Fall Classes Begin October 5 and registration is open: FLASH FICTION WORKSHOP  by Gila Green HOW TO PUBLISH A SHORT STORY WORKSHOP  by Gila Green CREATE MEMORABLE WRITING WITH LITERARY DEVICES  by Gila Green CREATE MEMORABLE WRITING WITH LITERARY DEVICES II  by Gila Green Need a little more time to catch your breath from summer? For the first time I'm offering two sets of fall classes. No need to wait for winter, but you can still pause a little longer than usual this year: November 16, 2015 registration is open  CREATE MEMORABLE WRITING WITH LITERARY DEVICES  by Gila Green CREATE MEMORABLE WRITING WITH LITERARY DEVICES II  by Gila Green HOW TO PUBLISH A SHORT STORY WORKSHOP  by Gila Green FLASH FICTION WORKSHOP  by Gila Green

The summer writing season has begun. If you would like a post on any particular topic, please send me your request. I'd be happy to consider it.  Summer post by Gila Green I have a confession. When I fill out forms in my kids’ schools or any other official forms —for some reason only schools seem to come to mind, but that’s another post—I always write ‘housewife’ under mother’s occupation and I instruct my husband to do the same. He always nudges me in the ribs with the same expression on his face, his jaw slightly lowered, his eyes at a half roll. “Because” I hiss at his unasked question. “How many times do I have to tell you?” This is normally enough for him to shrug his shoulders and follow my instructions.  Would that all marital conflicts resolve themselves so easily. So, why don’t I put in writer or even...

Dear Gila, BH my book will be delivered to me this week in print.   This is the link.  http://www.mazoproducts.com/ cat/index.php?main_page= product_info&products_id=276 It was wonderful working together and I greatly appreciate all the help and advice you provided me with, even after the editing was completed. Good luck with all of your future pursuits, Love Chana. Dear Gila, Here's the link to my short fiction piece - Silent Partners. The WOW! quarterly contests are a great way to get motivated and test your skills. I appreciate your interest so please feel free to share it with your Flash class. I would be grateful for any feedback/critique you or your class would like to offer!  http://www.wow-womenonwriting. com/63-FE1-Fall14Contest.html Thanks, Andrea 

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There is still time to sign up!

Carol Ungar on the upcoming publication of her cookbook Jewish Soul Food: Traditional Fare and What it Means.  Dear Gila, I couldn't have done it without you! Carol Ungar It was fun editing a cookbook for the first time, if not a little fattening, but it improved my cooking skills and it's always a pleasure to work with Carol. Mazal tov! I look forward to part two. And to Pia Wolcowitz on the release of her novel The Nurse . Thank you for everything, Pia  It was a pleasure to edit this novel and I wish Pia much success! I look forward to her next jump into adult women's fiction. Chana Bunim Rubin Ausubel whose memoir As Long as the Candle Burns is coming out this spring with Mazo Publishers. Thank you for choosing me as your editor, Chana. Your work is an important part of American Jewish history.  Dear Gila...

Flash into the Middle of Things by Gila Green Why do writers use in media res (Latin for “into the middle of things”)?  There is nothing new about this narrative technique, which we find in everything from Homer’s Odyssey to films, poetry and plays. In media res is neither a frame nor a story within a story nor a self-contained story. In media res allows the audience to jump into a story right in the middle of the action. If done well, the audience is quickly consumed by the narrative, even though many questions are unanswered. For example, if a story begins with a murder we do not know the victim, the motive, whose side we are on, but our curiosity is immediately addressed. In Flash fiction in media res can be particularly useful because of the very short word count allowed. Yet, I find many writers find it difficult to...

Have you ever seen any of these comments in the margins of your work? ·                      Slow down ·                      Uneven ·                      Lacks climax ·                      Flat If you answered “yes,” you should immediately browse through your writer’s toolbox of literary devices for pacing solutions—specifically how to slow the pace down. One device many writers threw out of their toolboxes long ago was indirect writing.  Most of us were told by everyone from our high school English teachers to published writers in creative writing programs that direct writing is good writing and indirect writing is bad writing. That’s often true. But completely eliminating indirect writing is also a surefire way for many writers to ruin the pace of their work. They write each line so directly that the story is over before it begins; there is never any time to savor the scene, in particular the climax or mini climaxes;...

Hi, Gila!  Just wanted to let you know that my first flash piece,  Bar Rag , was published by  The Legendary  (an online literary journal).  Less than a year after taking your course, not bad. ;) Go here & click on 'Joyce Barton' link:   http://www. downdirtyword.com/fictionpage. html (Or you can access it from the bio page:  http://www. downdirtyword.com/authors/ joycebarton.html  ) Just wanted to say thanks again; your class helped me get started with flash, and now I'm on my way. Hope you are well, and Happy New Year! ~Joyce

When I tell people I teach a virtual flash fiction course, I often get strange responses bordering on laughter. Isn’t flash fiction just really short fiction? What’s the point of taking a specific Flash class? No, flash is its own genre deserving of its own class and in my opinion, it’s still underrated as a way to break into publication. But the increasing number of publication opportunities is only one benefit of Flash. It also offers a break to a lot of writers who might be burnt out with a novel or short story. In the main, you get a break from following those longer-length piece rules and who doesn’t need a break from ‘the rules’ once in a while to recharge?   Here are five rules most of us hear over and over again that you get to completely ignore in Flash: Tell don’t show. If you’re like me, you’re...

This is the first in my blog post series on writing, particularly flash fiction. This post was on the WOW-Women on Writing site in 2013. 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...

My new writing class Create Memorable Writing has been updated and revised. Mark January 12 on your calendars. Enamored with the new short writing trend? Sign up for Flash Fiction Short on time? Try my four-week short story mini publishing workshop

Classes in Flash Fiction and Literary Devices Begin October 27. Sign up for Flash Sign up for Literary Devices I NEW: Mini Course. How to Publish a Short Story. Loved Literary Devices I? Sign up for part two. 

Welcome to my newest guest: Margo Dill. I've been virtual friends with Margo for a few years now and I'm very pleased to introduce you to her latest novel, a YA paranormal romance with a catchy title: "Caught Between Two Curses." To whet your appetite, here's a line about her latest work:  Seventeen-year-old Julie Nigelson is cursed. So is her entire family. And it’s not just any-old-regular curse, either—it’s strangely connected to the famous “Curse of the Billy Goat” on the Chicago Cubs.     Practical Ways to Balance Motherhood and Writing   by Margo L. Dill I have a 3 ½ year old daughter and a 13-year-old stepson. This summer, it seems harder than ever to balance work and motherhood. I think it’s because the kids are older—they sleep less and want to do more. But I’m working on some practical ways to entertain and love my children while I...

My short story The Costume Room was a finalist for WordSmitten's 1010 Fiction Contest. Today Brian Henry posted it on his blog.

Thanks so much to Yael Shahar author of A Damaged Mirror, who invited me to participate in the current My Writing Process Blog Tour . Yael describes her book as an exploration between right and wrong; between choice and choicelessness, and the consequences of crossing boundaries. Check it out! This tour asks four questions that each writer answers before she passes on the virtual torch, so here goes: What am I working on? I just finished my second novel, Passport Control. I’m really excited about it as it is my longest work and I feel for me it means I have finally crossed the line from short story writer to novelist. Although, I have already published one novel King of the Class I was undergoing a transition with that novel from years of writing only short stories and some poetry. This time around I no longer had the ghost of a...

I am so pleased to introduce my third summer guest, Renee Howard Cassese. Renee has been a participant in two of my virtual classes over the last couple of years. It is a privilege that many of my class participants continue to fill me in on their writing lives. Thanks for the update, Renee and congratulations on your move to self-publishing, which I've asked Renee to discuss in today's post. You can take a look at her self-published paperback I am my Mother's Only Poem :  http://www.amazon.com/Am-My- Mothers-Only-Poem/dp/ 1494962535/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8& qid=1402002896&sr=8-1& keywords=i+am+my+mother%27s+ only+poem To self-publish or not to self-publish, that was the question. Though I rejected the idea of self-publishing because I thought it would brand me as an incompetent writer and unattractive to agents and traditional publishers, over the years I gently but surely changed my mind. When it comes to novels I still believe traditional is the way to go,...