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 110 works of fiction featuring 39 different Characters!

Featured Story

Published: Sep 26, 2020

Caro-Kann

Daniel sat at the board waiting for his opponent. It was the final game of the day and he was playing black. His record would say he was better with the white pieces but he preferred to play with the black ones. Reacting to the other player's moves was somehow easier than pushing them around, dictating their next moves. He had trouble finding the plan, and seeing several moves ahead.

He wondered where his parents were at that moment. Were they even alive? The adults could not or would not reveal his true past. Often he imagined they thought it would destroy his hope for the future, but he did not see it that way. Daniel expected a lot of himself and knowing about his past would tell him what his weaknesses might be. He could then avoid those same issues that had plagued his parents, whomever they might be. This was his strength in chess; and he expected it to be the same in life.

Recent Stories

Published: Oct 14, 2026

Waitress Profile

featuring: Alexa Cortez

Alexa could carry four plates of food, four glasses of water, and four mugs of coffee on a tray over one shoulder without spilling a crumb of food or a drop of ...

Published: Jun 30, 2026

Twenty Ways to Talk to No One

featuring: Luciano Xavier

I dabbled in French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Russian. I never learned to be good with any of them, probably because I couldn't find someone to practice with. A few ...

Published: May 14, 2026

No Stills

featuring: Donald York

I walk the bridge path everyday, both directions, all two miles or more. I see a lot of tourists taking photographs of everything: the skyline, other bridges, the harbor, monuments, even the ...

Published: May 11, 2026

Movie Masks

featuring: Lizzy Unger

I thought the masks were terrifying: big circular filters near the mouth, a clear plastic visor shielding the eyes, heavy back rubber to fit the contours of a human face, and thick ...

Published: May 07, 2026

In the Attic

featuring: Lizzy Unger

We climbed the stairs to the attic; the house protested with creaks and groans. I opened the door slowly, stirring dust. The air was hazy and the ceiling sloped sharply down from ...

Characters