Young Writers Society

I cannot for the life of me write mine! It is driving me CRAZY. I've tried so many different variations and still have nothing! It's young adult with two main characters both male, one is a half breed werewolf and the other is a vampire. The werewolf has been shunned from his family other than his uncle since the day he was born and the vampire is just casual with the exception he has feelings for his human best friend Libby who knows nothing if it. Their situation revolves around a rogue vampire that's taking human lives at an alarming rate. The main characters don't hate each other, in fact they're curious about the others life. I probably don't have much of a story and it's bothering me since I've been at work at this for like two weeks and still have nothing to show for it. Someone please help I'm near tears here.

First off, know you don't have to write the synopsis before you start the story. If you feel like it gives you a good starting point, then that's one thing. But if it's an item on a checklist, then don't worry about the checklist not being filled out. Every single story is different, and some can't have the synopsis written before the story itself. You'll probably rewrite the synopsis before you finish the story, and certainly before you publish, because the story changes.

If, however, you need this so you have some idea where the story is going to end up and know full well you'll rework it later, then here are some ideas for you:

Work on the groundwork of the story. Ie- who, what, when, where, why, and how. This helps build a setting, some conflict, and the characters.

Develop the idea more. Ask "what if" to build the basics and keep asking those questions. This article breaks down the 'what if' question in a different way. It's a key thing to building the story. Asking "what if" combines with figuring out the groundwork, and it lets your imagination run wild to let things develop.

Once you've developed the idea more, you can start to look at the overall thread of the plot. As you start figuring out the root conflict, both internal and external, then you have something that can be boiled down into a synopsis. Take all the big, broad picture and put it into a paragraph. That is your synopsis.

I personally try to get the story down to a sentence, because it's the most condensed form, but you need something to condense down first. Which is why you have to work on the basics of the story before you can start figuring out how to package them in a synopsis.