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 102 works of fiction featuring 32 different Characters!

Featured Story

Published: Jan 04, 2021

Yellow Door

Steve found himself stumbling down a short flight of steps, catching his fall with a hand on a yellow door. It was shiny and clean, spotless in fact. Steve marveled at the lack of smudges, even where he had placed his hand. He was not sure where his was because he had been wandering in deep thoughts. His feet had carried him here on their own volition it seemed. He crouched and could not find a water spot despite the fact that the ground was wet from an earlier rain - the washing truck was just at the end of the block. The yellow color was that of the sun, bright and burning. He touched it again and it was warm.

He knocked. Waited. Nothing happened, there was no sound from the other side, so he put his ear to the door. It opened slowly, just an inch. Steve waited again, but nothing more happened. For what seemed an eternity, he thought about his options: opening the door, leaving, peeking inside, calling out, doing something, doing nothing. Which is what he did, nothing. He was frozen in anticipation.

Recent Stories

Published: Aug 29, 2025

Lamb History

featuring: Moreland Bouquett

Moreland stood before the picture window filled with hanging sausages, dried jerky, smoked slabs, ribs, and birds, plucked clean, dangling by rope. His mouth watered. He entered the shop, breathing heavily and ...

Published: Jul 12, 2025

He Walked too Far

featuring: Moreland Bouquett

Sometimes the long walks took Moreland into new parts of the city, blocks and blocks that he had never seen before or that had completely changed since the last time he had ...

Published: Jun 26, 2025

Moreland Liked to Walk

featuring: Moreland Bouquett

Moreland liked to walk the streets because he could inhale the smells of foods leaking from the restaurants as he passed: fried, spicy, grilled, sweet, steamed, broiled, baked, and fresh. Glasses tinkled ...

Published: Jun 19, 2023

Jonesy

featuring: Harold White

Trash tumbled down the parkway, carried by the wind. Trees swayed, the crescendo of rustling leaves drowning out the sounds of the street at the end of the block. Harold watched from ...

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 ...

Characters