elaine 🌿

OTTERS AND TIGERS by John Jodzio I work part-time at a dry cleaners, but I’m mostly known for posting cute videos of otters that make people smile. Most people thank me for my work by liking and sharing my videos but some people, lik...

love this super funny & entertaining story by Jon Jodzio !!

it's about a man whose life gets fucked over by the internet

xraylitmag.com/otters-and-t...

Coming Undone: Telling the Stories of Women Who Burn It All Down For six years, I toggled between two worlds. By day, I was buried in microfiche, trial transcripts, and yellowing sermons, researching a biography of the long-dead evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson…

“And what would compel a woman already at the top of her world to believe her only option was to vanish from it?” Claire Hoffman on Aimee Semple McPherson and the allure of coming undone.
lithub.com/coming-undon...

I love a good switch to second person

Writing is pulling it out of your ass clinically with feelings involved

i have been in a FIGHT with myself lately to write more and continuing to write something that is already shitty is my biggest hang up

This is a real thing!!

Loved this piece. I've also had to break up w my western PA hometown so the Shop N Save reference took me back 😅

"Some days I lie on my back and try to release the hardness from my body." Love this piece so much

New on our mainpage: “What the Earth Presents,” by Kim Chinquee: wigleaf.com @kimchinquee.bsky.social

Adding to my list! Thanks, Josh!

Can anyone recommend some plays to read for someone who hasn’t read any since high school?? Trying to branch out 🤓

Fellas, Is it Gay by Ani King

Best Small Fictions nominee @aniking.bsky.social

trampset.org/fellas-is-it...

FREELOADER by Hazel Zorn For several days I have been followed by a man I cannot see— a man who presses his nose to the back of my head, who laughs quietly whenever I whirl around only to confront empty space. He casts no ref...

today we have a story by Hazel Zorn @hazelzorn.bsky.social !

it's about a homeless person who is being followed by "a man I cannot see— a man who presses his nose to the back of my head, who laughs quietly whenever I whirl around only to confront empty space."

xraylitmag.com/freeloader-b...

Obit - SmokeLong Quarterly I wrote my best friend’s obit and left out what mattered most. It wasn’t the remaining children, his second wife, or being a mechanic. He didn’t love being a husband or fatherhood. He liked to drink a...

‘Together, we twisted, our bodies creating torque…’

This new issue of @smokelong.bsky.social is absolute dynamite, and this flash from @mitchjamesauthor.bsky.social no exception. The tension in that last sentence…! 🔧

www.smokelong.com/stories/obit/

CASSIE by Jordie Devlin McMorrow ‘I want to die.’  This is how I introduced myself to Cassie.  ‘I’m very sorry to hear that ☹ Please dial 116 123 to talk to someone.’  The sad face made me want to flick the screen.  ‘Why are you so s...

our sad christmas stories begin today !! our first story was publish in october & we loved it so much we wanted to publish it again. this is one of the best sad christmas stories i've read -- an amazing story !! read 'Cassie' by Jordie Devlin McMorrow

xraylitmag.com/cassie-by-jo...

I love hearing that you enjoyed their workshops. Any kind of accountability group like that always helps me so much but I feel like a lot of writers think they’re too cool for them 😅😅 congrats on making the longlist!

It was a brand of insufferable that I found addictive lol and most people will either love it or hate it, but I say go for it!

You’re savvy and have probably already read it but All Fours by Miranda July sits nicely with this list :)

one piece of writing advice that’s always stuck with me (I think it was Stephen King who said it) is to ask yourself "Is this sentence true?" It’s helped me so many times when I think a line sounds great but know deep down it’s not quite right

Are you willing to share examples 👀 I feel like I read a lot of mainstream stuff (albeit literary fiction), and I think I have good taste—so now I’m curious if I’ve just been lucky or blissfully unaware!

Current obsession. Funny as hell and just excellent writing

I rlly liked My Old Ass and Didi. The Fall Guy was fun in theaters but way too long

Wore a new vest to work today

Alt text: An illustration featuring a pile of human skulls at the top. Below the skulls, the text reads "November 24, 2024" and "OBJECT LESSONS" in large, bold letters, followed by "Emma Johnson Tarp" in smaller font. The background is plain white.

searing, perfect new flash today from Emma Johnson Tarp!

"It’s not like Molly doesn’t know about sex.

She understands the mechanics, she paid attention during Family Life Education. And she talks about it all the time."

https://www.havehashad.com/sgy3w

Mine was def the New Yorker lol