First the genre. I'm thinking that a fantasy story would work best. I prefer science fiction, but I don't think I would be able to come up with a convincing reason for my characters to exist in such short a length as 1,000 words. Lets see... I really liked the Mortal Instruments series with the daemons and interwoven worlds/ stories. Also... the Elder scrolls series... and and the Hobbit from Tolkien (forgive me that I haven't read the other Lord of the Rings books). So that's a lot at once. For today I think I'll come up with a specific setting. Ysenfell. First "fantasy" land name I could think of. Ysenfell it is. A small valley kingdom nestled between two great mountain ranges and marked by rolling hills. Green land in a cold region of the continent; magic perhaps? Ruled by a well respected but ancient and dying line of rulers. Unrest due to wild tales of mighty conquests to the south slowly approaching north. No. Nothing political; not enough length. Um... action: a skirmish on the edge of the kingdom that may be a sign of greater battles to come. There is my setting and my theme. Tomorrow I shall sketch a few characters.