Welcome to 1,000 Characters!

This is a project about exploration, into writing and into characters. The goal is to create one thousand characters, and learn more about all of them. Most days (at least twenty per month) there should be a new story snippet to keep the words flowing. Do not fret that everything (or at least most things) are short, as that is the intention.

1,000 Characters is a practice for better storytelling, improved fiction. The focus is diving into characters, looking curiously and deeply into their hopes, dreams, desires. Exploring new characters, their stories, the places they live and work, becomes a journey of fun. This process of discovery should, in many cases, lead to longer stories, possibly even a novel. Dare it be said: maybe novels.

A total of 98 works of fiction featuring 30 different Characters!

Featured Story

Published: Nov 02, 2020

Cats Eyes

Monica had the yellowest eyes I had ever seen. At times, I thought for a moment, she was a cat. Admittedly it was dark and we had two cats at the time. But neither cat had yellow eyes, theirs were green. My wife would not tell me they were colored contacts no matter how much I insisted it must be true.

My wife's best friend was Monica. Sometimes she stayed until the sun came up the next morning. I'd find her sitting on the couch focused on nothing first thing in the morning. At some point while I was eating she would rise and leave without a word.

Recent Stories

Published: Jan 25, 2022

Email is Popular

featuring: Kroft Rodgers

I thought about writing this story last week. The plan was to type some words and see what I thought of them. Instead researched the top searched words on Google. I learned ...

Published: Jan 24, 2022

Shoveled Snow

featuring: Kroft Rodgers

I shoveled the snow this morning. It was a great workout, which is about the only reason I do it. I come into the house, covered in the white stuff below the ...

Published: Jan 23, 2022

Let's Talk

featuring: Kroft Rodgers

I just took up writing again, after many years of typing out computer code. I like sitting on my ass, getting old, wasting away. Whoever said we should all live to be ...

Published: Jan 22, 2022

Virus Blues

featuring: Kroft Rodgers

My son has Covid. Nothing more than a cold, thankfully. I'm writing this down for the future, which future or what future I do not know. Soon viruses will have to spread ...

Published: Jan 12, 2021

Escape Time

featuring: Traelyn Nelsen

Traelyn found an escape pod. Odd, he thought, that after flying spaceships for forty years that this would be the first time he needed one of these. Inside was smaller than he ...

Characters