My Camp NaNo Project: Little Boy Blue

This July, I'm participating in Camp NaNo for the second time in my life—and the second time this year. Honestly, it was probably a bad idea, buuuut . . . it's one of those irresistible things, ya know? One of those things that you just really want to try, even if you may or may not have time.

Do I have time? Probably not . . . but I set my goal at half of what it was last time, so I think it's doable. If it isn't, well, I guess I'll fail Camp. But that's okay. Because the goal is to just write as much as time allows, right?

Right.

Anyway. You're obviously here to read all about my crazy Camp NaNo project. The title? You guessed it (rather obvious, I suppose . . . )! Little Boy Blue.

The idea for this story first blossomed . . . I don't know . . . it really depends on how you look at it. This particular story has probably been stewing in my brain for several months. I'm not quite sure about the amount of months. (Any idea, Livi?)

Little Boy Blue is a retelling of the biblical story of Joseph, with a particular twist that incorporates the nursery rhyme:

"Little Boy Blue,

Come blow your horn.

The sheep's in the meadow,

The cow's in the corn.

Where is the boy

Who looks after the sheep?

He's under a haystack,

He's fast asleep!"

I wrote up a quick unofficial synopsis the other day:

Custody of a fifteen-year-old wasn't what Judah had in mind when he took over the Turner clan. But he sees himself in the teen—lonely and afraid of the future, a mask of indifference covering his true fears.

Determined to draw out the boy's inner potential, Judah continually maintains patience with him, despite warnings by the others: a convict's son doesn't belong in a family of crimefighters.

A stroke of tragedy shoves Judah to the brink of despair, and only God can bring him back to safety. Will severed ties mend before it's too late?

Honestly, I don't even know if the story will stay true to the description. You can ask my writing partner, I change my mind far too often, especially when it comes to this story!

And, in honor of Camp NaNo (and, more specifically, this post), I created an aesthetic collage! It was actually surprisingly hard to find pictures for this—except for the can of Pepsi—but I think it turned out pretty well. ;)

But there's one little secret I haven't told you yet—Little Boy Blue is, Lord willing, the first of a series! *cue screaming* Nothing is set in stone yet, and heaven knows that I need about ten (or a hundred) times more research than I've actually done (which is pretty close to none). The series has been in my mind for well over a year (maybe two or three?), and I'm soooo excited to finally start working on it!

But wait, you might be thinking, she's only started thinking about this book for a few months. How can she have thought of the series for years?

Well, let's just say that this series has gone through many mental revisions. I'm rather fickle that way.

So. Would you care for a snippet? Yes, I thought you might. This particular bit was written before Camp NaNo, but I'm rather partial to it. 

Judah turned and looked where her gaze pointed. Wyatt leaned casually against the doorway from the dining room into the living room, though he looked anything but relaxed. “Hey Wyatt, you ready to eat?”

The young man shrugged indifferently and stepped into the room, then swaggered to the table, taking a seat next to the door.

“Uh, sorry, but that’s, um, my seat,” Jason spoke before Wyatt sat down, face utterly serious. Then he broke into a wide grin and a hearty laugh. “Nope, just kidding. You can have it.”

Wyatt rolled his eyes and moved to a different chair anyway.

Jason’s face morphed into a frown, and he opened his mouth several times before finally stammering, “Now, that one really is my seat.” He moved to stand behind Wyatt’s chair, waiting for the boy to stand.

He didn’t.

Judah watched on in amusement, leaning back against the island. This’ll be interesting. 

Wyatt sat still for a moment, ignoring the man behind him, and then finally turned to stare up at least three feet from where he sat. “You need something, Hulk?”

Jason’s face reddened. He normally didn’t mind being called Hulk, but somehow he didn’t think that this time was meant as a compliment. “That’s my chair, punk.”

Wyatt tilted his head, then motioned to the seat beside him. “I thought you said that that one’s yours.”

“Yeah, well, I was only joking.”

Wyatt paused for a moment, staring unblinkingly into Jason’s eyes. “Yeah, well,” He copied Jason’s words, “I wasn’t.”

Judah held back a smirk. Two matching egos. May the sparks fly.

 What do you think? Intrigued? Yeah, me too. I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to seeing where this story goes!
Are you participating in Camp NaNo July this year?