Lisa Thornton
@thorntonforreal.bsky.social
Writer, school nurse. Stories in Ghost Parachute, HAD, New World Writing, Cincinnati Review+. Pushcart & BotN noms. Wigleaf Top50 LL. Assoc FF Editor @JMWW. Loves a good view & due process. Learning Spanish, pero no rápido.
lisathorntonwriter.com
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lisathorntonwriter.com
🚫🧊
Pinned
This story has been incubating for 15 years. Thanks to @newworldwriting.bsky.social for giving it the perfect home at the perfect time.
Meet “Fancy Thompson” here ⬇️
newworldwriting.net/fancy-thomps...
Meet “Fancy Thompson” here ⬇️
newworldwriting.net/fancy-thomps...
What’s more fun than helping a 5yo who is bleeding? Helping a 5yo who is bleeding and running away from you!
November 11, 2025 at 10:57 PM
What’s more fun than helping a 5yo who is bleeding? Helping a 5yo who is bleeding and running away from you!
One of my hospice patients told me that on the ship that took him to fight in WWII he hated to sleep below bc it smelled. So he crept on deck & slept on bags of cargo. He said there were more stars than black. He said they reflected off the water. He said it was dazzling.
November 11, 2025 at 1:16 PM
One of my hospice patients told me that on the ship that took him to fight in WWII he hated to sleep below bc it smelled. So he crept on deck & slept on bags of cargo. He said there were more stars than black. He said they reflected off the water. He said it was dazzling.
I always think of the aliens when I’m at Walmart. How this is where I’d take them. To see us for real, banging our carts up against each other and laughing. Grabbing Ranch dressing off the top shelf for our shorter kin. Everybody here.
November 10, 2025 at 10:22 PM
I always think of the aliens when I’m at Walmart. How this is where I’d take them. To see us for real, banging our carts up against each other and laughing. Grabbing Ranch dressing off the top shelf for our shorter kin. Everybody here.
If you are in Illinois and need food, you can use this link to find free groceries or hot meals. Pass it on!
wegotyouillinois.org/find-food/#g...
wegotyouillinois.org/find-food/#g...
Find Food | We Got You Illinois
wegotyouillinois.org
November 10, 2025 at 7:51 PM
If you are in Illinois and need food, you can use this link to find free groceries or hot meals. Pass it on!
wegotyouillinois.org/find-food/#g...
wegotyouillinois.org/find-food/#g...
Reposted by Lisa Thornton
The 2026 lit mag rankings are now available from my website! They include an overall ranking, as well as separate rankings for fiction, flash fiction, non-fiction and poetry. If you find these helpful, please show your support by liking & sharing 🙏
November 9, 2025 at 7:41 PM
The 2026 lit mag rankings are now available from my website! They include an overall ranking, as well as separate rankings for fiction, flash fiction, non-fiction and poetry. If you find these helpful, please show your support by liking & sharing 🙏
So windy over here we can’t tell the sparrows from the maple leaves zooming past the windows. I dreamt of a funnel cloud touching down at the end of our driveway. I dreamt we all made it into the basement.
November 9, 2025 at 5:27 PM
So windy over here we can’t tell the sparrows from the maple leaves zooming past the windows. I dreamt of a funnel cloud touching down at the end of our driveway. I dreamt we all made it into the basement.
Morning prompt based on last night's Flannery O'Connor reading: think of a basic activity of living and put the worst person you know in it. Write from their POV for ten minutes.
November 9, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Morning prompt based on last night's Flannery O'Connor reading: think of a basic activity of living and put the worst person you know in it. Write from their POV for ten minutes.
Saturday night plans
November 9, 2025 at 2:49 AM
Saturday night plans
This doorway has seven hundred stories to tell.
November 8, 2025 at 7:18 PM
This doorway has seven hundred stories to tell.
The sugar maple branches now like witch fingers, long bones. Spacer heater ticking. From my bed, I can see the road sign saying there's a stop sign coming soon.
November 8, 2025 at 1:04 PM
The sugar maple branches now like witch fingers, long bones. Spacer heater ticking. From my bed, I can see the road sign saying there's a stop sign coming soon.
The kid wants a LEGO set, @smokelong.bsky.social. A big one, he said.
It's FlashGiving! Follow @smokelong.bsky.social if you don't already, then like and share this post to get your name in the hat to win $200 holiday money. Deadline is midnight ET, November 26th! Winner chosen randomly on Nov 27th. Please tag @smokelong.bsky.social so that we know you've posted!
November 8, 2025 at 2:58 AM
The kid wants a LEGO set, @smokelong.bsky.social. A big one, he said.
My check arrived today from a class action lawsuit in which one of my former employers was rounding down our timesheets AND I saw a downy woodpecker 💫
November 7, 2025 at 11:03 PM
My check arrived today from a class action lawsuit in which one of my former employers was rounding down our timesheets AND I saw a downy woodpecker 💫
Skies of black birds. The overnight rain feels like a foreign country. I haven’t seen mud in so long.
November 7, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Skies of black birds. The overnight rain feels like a foreign country. I haven’t seen mud in so long.
I have joined the Illinois Native Plant Society but I'm afraid to attend a meeting since I am really an imposter and I'm sure they are all experts. Gathering the courage. Maybe in the spring 🌱
November 7, 2025 at 1:10 AM
I have joined the Illinois Native Plant Society but I'm afraid to attend a meeting since I am really an imposter and I'm sure they are all experts. Gathering the courage. Maybe in the spring 🌱
My school district does a holiday gift sign-up that I look forward to all year. It is finally time. A 5yo who is into unicorns? YES. A 10 yo who wants to be a scientist? Let’s GOOOOOOOO 🎁
November 6, 2025 at 7:12 PM
My school district does a holiday gift sign-up that I look forward to all year. It is finally time. A 5yo who is into unicorns? YES. A 10 yo who wants to be a scientist? Let’s GOOOOOOOO 🎁
The sexiest words you can say to me in the morning? Come look at the sky.
November 6, 2025 at 12:27 PM
The sexiest words you can say to me in the morning? Come look at the sky.
Reposted by Lisa Thornton
Fantastic braided essay on the writing life and the art of flash fiction by @thorntonforreal.bsky.social ✨
"The challenge of flash fiction is, of course, to pick the right words to tell a complete story, since the writer is allowed so few."
Craft: Word Count by Lisa Thornton
jmwwblog.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/w...
Craft: Word Count by Lisa Thornton
jmwwblog.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/w...
jmwwblog.wordpress.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Fantastic braided essay on the writing life and the art of flash fiction by @thorntonforreal.bsky.social ✨
How can I make jewelry out of my zebra grass?
November 5, 2025 at 10:01 PM
How can I make jewelry out of my zebra grass?
Thanks to @jmwwjournal.bsky.social for letting me think thru my own writing journey in this craft/personal essay. As usual, writing this helped me see.
"The challenge of flash fiction is, of course, to pick the right words to tell a complete story, since the writer is allowed so few."
Craft: Word Count by Lisa Thornton
jmwwblog.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/w...
Craft: Word Count by Lisa Thornton
jmwwblog.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/w...
jmwwblog.wordpress.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Thanks to @jmwwjournal.bsky.social for letting me think thru my own writing journey in this craft/personal essay. As usual, writing this helped me see.
I woke up very early so I walked on my treadmill in the dark mud room watching headlights on the highway a field over. It was like sleeping, maybe better. I might do it again.
November 4, 2025 at 9:27 PM
I woke up very early so I walked on my treadmill in the dark mud room watching headlights on the highway a field over. It was like sleeping, maybe better. I might do it again.
My kid wants a dual cassette player for Christmas so he can make his own mix tapes. I am SO EXCITED.
a teddy bear is jumping over a boombox on the sidewalk .
Alt: A person dressed like a bear dancing on the street with a boombox
media.tenor.com
November 3, 2025 at 9:33 PM
My kid wants a dual cassette player for Christmas so he can make his own mix tapes. I am SO EXCITED.
Roasted poblanos & anaheims for green chili. Making apple crumble next. I cant save the world but I can make it smell better.
November 2, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Roasted poblanos & anaheims for green chili. Making apple crumble next. I cant save the world but I can make it smell better.
Reposted by Lisa Thornton
Folks, we are now OPEN until December 15th! Lit mag editors, please send us your 5 nominated stories! Judged by Diane Seuss. @dseuss.bsky.social www.bestmicrofiction.com
#FlashFiction #Microfiction #LiteraryMagazines #Author #Writers #Writing #ShortStory #WritingCommunity #WritingAndBooks
#FlashFiction #Microfiction #LiteraryMagazines #Author #Writers #Writing #ShortStory #WritingCommunity #WritingAndBooks
Best Microfiction
The Best Microfiction anthology series provides recognition for outstanding literary stories of 400 words or fewer.
www.bestmicrofiction.com
November 2, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Folks, we are now OPEN until December 15th! Lit mag editors, please send us your 5 nominated stories! Judged by Diane Seuss. @dseuss.bsky.social www.bestmicrofiction.com
#FlashFiction #Microfiction #LiteraryMagazines #Author #Writers #Writing #ShortStory #WritingCommunity #WritingAndBooks
#FlashFiction #Microfiction #LiteraryMagazines #Author #Writers #Writing #ShortStory #WritingCommunity #WritingAndBooks
The leaves on the sugar maple are almost gone and I can see the neighbor's mailbox now from my bed. It's painted white and crooked in the ground. The pine tree will be green all winter.
November 2, 2025 at 4:18 PM
The leaves on the sugar maple are almost gone and I can see the neighbor's mailbox now from my bed. It's painted white and crooked in the ground. The pine tree will be green all winter.
This is the magic field. It always looks like a painting regardless of season or weather. Crops or no crops. There is always a bird singing in the ditch.
November 1, 2025 at 9:17 PM
This is the magic field. It always looks like a painting regardless of season or weather. Crops or no crops. There is always a bird singing in the ditch.