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101 Words

101 Word Short Stories

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Pen Pals

April 19, 2025 20 Comments

By Bud Pharo

Sam grinned at his new cellmate. “What’re you in for, kid?”

Robert scowled. “Ten months for syntax errors! I swear the editor set me up; my doc was clean when I subbed it.”

“Fucking editors,” Sam grumbled, “they’re a shifty bunch; they got me for dangling my participles too often. But ten months seems harsh for a first-time grammatical offense.”

Frank exhaled. “Well…there was a little something else. Apparently, I did too much telling and not enough showing.”

“That’s ballsy, kid!”

Frank slumped onto his bunk. “And stupid me; I thought ‘telling’ was the whole point of an autobiography.”

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Stella says

    April 19, 2025 at 8:27 am

    Excellent 101 words……. Made me smile

    Reply
    • Bud Pharo says

      April 25, 2025 at 7:34 am

      Thank you.

      Reply
  2. JRRoth says

    April 19, 2025 at 12:05 pm

    I agree with Stella. Well done!

    Reply
  3. Larry Keeton says

    April 19, 2025 at 8:09 pm

    Made me chuckle. Well done.

    Reply
  4. Mary Anne Gorman says

    April 20, 2025 at 6:08 am

    Excellent writing, I was hooked all the way.

    Reply
    • Bud Pharo says

      April 25, 2025 at 7:35 am

      I’m glad you liked it.
      Thanks!

      Reply
    • Bud Pharo says

      April 25, 2025 at 7:38 am

      Thank you for the kind words.

      Reply
  5. Laura Besley says

    April 20, 2025 at 7:08 am

    Haha! Brilliant!

    Reply
    • Bud Pharo says

      April 25, 2025 at 7:35 am

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  6. Dan Cooper says

    April 23, 2025 at 8:37 am

    Nicely done. Made me laugh.

    Reply
    • Bud Pharo says

      April 25, 2025 at 7:36 am

      Dan, glad you liked it.

      Reply
  7. Sharon Murphy says

    April 23, 2025 at 11:09 am

    Lovely play on words. Well done

    Reply
  8. Bud Pharo says

    April 25, 2025 at 7:36 am

    Thank you!

    Reply
  9. PK says

    April 25, 2025 at 12:39 pm

    Bravo! Wry wit well writ!

    Reply
    • Bud Pharo says

      April 30, 2025 at 1:58 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  10. Kelly Louisa Balliu says

    April 29, 2025 at 8:20 pm

    Great stuff!

    Reply
    • Bud Pharo says

      April 30, 2025 at 1:58 pm

      Thank you for the kind words.

      Reply
  11. Pamela Cartlidge says

    April 30, 2025 at 1:10 pm

    Great story.

    Reply
    • Bud Pharo says

      April 30, 2025 at 1:59 pm

      Pamela, thank you for your kind words.

      Reply
  12. jaxson-dan says

    May 27, 2025 at 5:36 am

    Best story I read today. Love it

    Reply

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