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 94 works of fiction featuring 29 different Characters!

Featured Story

Published: Nov 30, 2020

Spare Time

They went to the new neighborhood for the first time on a chilly, sunny Saturday morning. The houses were golden while the leafless trees watched frost melt inch by inch. It was quiet and obviously residential, which she loved and he felt anxious about. They were scouting a single-family house for sale because that's what they did with their spare time now.

He was short with dark forgotten hair and sideburns growing out of his beard, untended gardens. She was taller and had wisps of grayed hair, which he said looked like highlights. Their children were at someone's else house and they were smiling because of it.

Recent Stories

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 ...

Published: Jan 11, 2021

Crush

featuring: Monica Charles

I started seeing Monica when my wife checked into the rehab center. Not because I was a bad husband or a terrible person, but because I needed comfort. Monica was unafraid to ...

Published: Jan 08, 2021

Job Offer

featuring: Angela Moriss

There was a job offer, but she wasn't certain it was for her. It meant going into an office, the office, again. The people, in person, were not her biggest problem. It ...

Published: Jan 07, 2021

How to Outlast a Door

featuring: Steve Suns

Several days later Steve returned to the door. It was still golden and spotless. He felt just as unsure of his next action as he had at last visit, and quite sure ...

Published: Jan 06, 2021

Used to be Wind

featuring: Steve Suns

"Hard to believe there used to be something called wind," Steve said to Uhlrick. "Never heard of it," the younger man said, swinging from his safety cable from bolt to bolt with ...

Characters