Dark Stars Short stories

Ok, not really sure what to call these but I just enjoy writing very short descriptive pieces. So, I'll keep this thread updated everytime I write some more!

The wasteland:
The barren wastelands unfold for miles, until they meet the mountains and alien terrain on the horizon. A wisp of dust sweeps across the plains. Shadows fall as the sun hovers low in the sky, blanketing the ground in a warm wave of heat. As the evening light fades, a new sight blares into focus. The small corporate city lights up. The distant sound of vehicles and ships rings across the plains from the small oasis of civilization. In the distant, many miles away, a huge figure stands majestically in the wasteland. The rusting corpse of a crashed space shuttle, entrenched in a hundred meter deep crater, bits of debris littering the trail where it slid to its grave. The gaping holes in the ships side, looted for their worth years ago. A creaking rumbles out of the dead ship as the metal strains and contorts in the heat.

A Knight:
The sun shone through the dust clouds, slowly drifting in the light wind. A tree in the distance swayed a little, shadows being cast across the grassland below. The soft rattle of metal clanged from beyond the hill. The horizon was broken by a figure making it's way across the raised ground. It lifted the iron visor, sunken blue eyes surveyed the land before them. The dark pupils scanning left and right. The man raised an armoured hand and removed the helmet. His hand fell to the side, dropping the helmet to the floor with a dull thud. His tunic waved in the wind, the bright blues and golds rippling over the smooth metal cuirass. The towering man fell to his knee's. The scene before him was unlike any other he had seen. A single tear followed the contours of his worn face and disappeared under his mouth.

'very short, descriptive pieces.....' are often one of the ways we start writing longer pieces (be it short stories or even novels).

So keep at it - but don't limit yourself to just these. You may find after a while that there is a common theme, or place, in which these might combine to form the skeleton of a story.

Description alone is never enough to carry a story - but there's no harm in continuing to refine your technique. And in my opinion, nothing you write ever goes to waste. It's always there in your stock-pot when you're looking to expand a piece. Or it might provide just the trigger you need to create a longer story.

Good luck

H

Thanks, this is something which I've only really picked up in the past few months. I've been reading various books and just thought I'd try and do something myself!