·A wise and experienced consciousness, paired with a youthful and vigorous body, to spread positive energy throughout the world.
·Die, but then be given a second chance at life to make the world a better place
2)Sketch the Antagonist
There are several secondary characters that act upon Lindy (main character) to provide conflict. Chloe the school bully tests Lindy’s patience and tolerance for mean-girl behavior, Mrs. Severson the US History teacher tests Lindy’s ability to navigate condescending authority, and the alcoholic soccer team captain pushes Lindy to use her talents and ability to the level that she is capable.
But the real antagonist is Lindy herself. “Some of the greatest battles in your life will occur in your own mind.”(variations of this theme have been offered by Sheldon B Kopp, Jesse Owens, Tim Kennedy, Dalai Lama, Ali Vincent)
The antagonist is Lindy’s free will to choose to accept her plight, and in doing so, to engage in deliberate service to her community to affect positive change in the world, or, instead choose to live her second chance at life as a self-indulgent individual.
3)Create a breakout title
·Live Twice
·Live Again for Good
·Second Chance to Do Good Things
4)Two smart comparables for your novel
Live Twice is women’s contemporary fiction that nudges readers to wonder about the things they would do differently if given a second chance.
Just as readers cheered on Cannie in Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner, or rooted for Lilian in Garden of Small Beginnings by Abby Waxman, Lindy demonstrates that it’s possible to turn a tragedy into something positive and meaningful.
5)Hook line, with conflict and core wound
Live Twice, by Natasha Von Imhof
·Lynn is a professional 51-year-old wife and mother who dies in a car accident but “wakes up” the next morning in the body of a 16-year-old girl, and spends the next two years discovering how and why this mind/body swap occurred.
6)Matters of Conflict
Youth is often wasted on the young. But what if this time, it isn’t?Lynn is a professional 51-year-old wife and mother who dies in a car accident but “wakes up” the next morning in the body of a 16-year-old girl. Lynn asks herself, am I dead? But she can’t deny that she feels very much alive, albeit inside a slovenly and sweaty teenage body. Why did this happen? But more importantly, how did this happen? Lynn just wants to go back to her old life, but can she?Or, does she have to embrace this new and permanent situation and make the best of it?
Live Twice takes place during the junior and senior year of high school when Lynn finds herself a student again thirty years later. Initially, she has to process her grief and let go of the family she left behind. As she moves forward, she decides to reinvent herself to represent both her mind and body, and changes her name to “Lindy”, a blend of “Lynn” and “Mandy”, the teenager’s body her consciousness has inhabited. Right off the bat, Lindy has to deal with practical matters such as attending algebra class, getting a job, and fending off the school bully who sees Lindy as a threat.
At the end of her junior year, Lindy learns how and why the mind/body swap occurred: it is a consciousness transfer of biblical proportions when specific circumstances collide, for the purpose of applying her knowledge, maturity and wisdom to make the world a better place through meaningful and numerous positive interactions.
During her senior year, Lindy has to decide how to embrace this strange second chance, such as whether to have a romantic relationship with a boy her age, or how to navigate the dynamic of having more life experience and insight than many of her teachers and superiors. Finally, Lindy has the opportunity to meet up with her family again. Should she? How will they accept their mother as a teenager?
Ultimately, Lindy’s must engage in an internal battle of free will, either choose to accept her plight, and in doing so, to engage in deliberate service to her community to affect positive change in the world, or, instead choose to live a life of self-indulgence.
Live Twice is women’s fiction with a touch of magic realism that nudges readers to wonder about the things they would do differently if given a second chance.
7)Setting
The book takes place present day, in a low income neighborhood in Dallas, Texas. When Lindy regains consciousness in her new body, she finds herself in a dingy and dim apartment with catatonic Carrie, the only other occupant. The apartment is near Overton High School where she attends for her junior and senior year, as well as close to various community parks, Southern Methodist University, and is within driving distance of the sprawling ranches north of town owned by Dallas’s wealthy elite.
This centralized and urban location allows Lindy to interact with her struggling neighbors, her classmates, a potential boyfriend, as well as use her wisdom and experience to influence families of all social and economic strata.
New York Pitch Conference - September 2021
in New York Write to Pitch 2023 and 2024
Posted
Algonkian Writers Conference- Seven (7) Shorts
By Natasha Von Imhof
1) Story Statement(s)
· A wise and experienced consciousness, paired with a youthful and vigorous body, to spread positive energy throughout the world.
· Die, but then be given a second chance at life to make the world a better place
2) Sketch the Antagonist
There are several secondary characters that act upon Lindy (main character) to provide conflict. Chloe the school bully tests Lindy’s patience and tolerance for mean-girl behavior, Mrs. Severson the US History teacher tests Lindy’s ability to navigate condescending authority, and the alcoholic soccer team captain pushes Lindy to use her talents and ability to the level that she is capable.
But the real antagonist is Lindy herself. “Some of the greatest battles in your life will occur in your own mind.” (variations of this theme have been offered by Sheldon B Kopp, Jesse Owens, Tim Kennedy, Dalai Lama, Ali Vincent)
The antagonist is Lindy’s free will to choose to accept her plight, and in doing so, to engage in deliberate service to her community to affect positive change in the world, or, instead choose to live her second chance at life as a self-indulgent individual.
3) Create a breakout title
· Live Twice
· Live Again for Good
· Second Chance to Do Good Things
4) Two smart comparables for your novel
Live Twice is women’s contemporary fiction that nudges readers to wonder about the things they would do differently if given a second chance.
Just as readers cheered on Cannie in Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner, or rooted for Lilian in Garden of Small Beginnings by Abby Waxman, Lindy demonstrates that it’s possible to turn a tragedy into something positive and meaningful.
5) Hook line, with conflict and core wound
Live Twice, by Natasha Von Imhof
· Lynn is a professional 51-year-old wife and mother who dies in a car accident but “wakes up” the next morning in the body of a 16-year-old girl, and spends the next two years discovering how and why this mind/body swap occurred.
6) Matters of Conflict
Youth is often wasted on the young. But what if this time, it isn’t? Lynn is a professional 51-year-old wife and mother who dies in a car accident but “wakes up” the next morning in the body of a 16-year-old girl. Lynn asks herself, am I dead? But she can’t deny that she feels very much alive, albeit inside a slovenly and sweaty teenage body. Why did this happen? But more importantly, how did this happen? Lynn just wants to go back to her old life, but can she? Or, does she have to embrace this new and permanent situation and make the best of it?
Live Twice takes place during the junior and senior year of high school when Lynn finds herself a student again thirty years later. Initially, she has to process her grief and let go of the family she left behind. As she moves forward, she decides to reinvent herself to represent both her mind and body, and changes her name to “Lindy”, a blend of “Lynn” and “Mandy”, the teenager’s body her consciousness has inhabited. Right off the bat, Lindy has to deal with practical matters such as attending algebra class, getting a job, and fending off the school bully who sees Lindy as a threat.
At the end of her junior year, Lindy learns how and why the mind/body swap occurred: it is a consciousness transfer of biblical proportions when specific circumstances collide, for the purpose of applying her knowledge, maturity and wisdom to make the world a better place through meaningful and numerous positive interactions.
During her senior year, Lindy has to decide how to embrace this strange second chance, such as whether to have a romantic relationship with a boy her age, or how to navigate the dynamic of having more life experience and insight than many of her teachers and superiors. Finally, Lindy has the opportunity to meet up with her family again. Should she? How will they accept their mother as a teenager?
Ultimately, Lindy’s must engage in an internal battle of free will, either choose to accept her plight, and in doing so, to engage in deliberate service to her community to affect positive change in the world, or, instead choose to live a life of self-indulgence.
Live Twice is women’s fiction with a touch of magic realism that nudges readers to wonder about the things they would do differently if given a second chance.
7) Setting
The book takes place present day, in a low income neighborhood in Dallas, Texas. When Lindy regains consciousness in her new body, she finds herself in a dingy and dim apartment with catatonic Carrie, the only other occupant. The apartment is near Overton High School where she attends for her junior and senior year, as well as close to various community parks, Southern Methodist University, and is within driving distance of the sprawling ranches north of town owned by Dallas’s wealthy elite.
This centralized and urban location allows Lindy to interact with her struggling neighbors, her classmates, a potential boyfriend, as well as use her wisdom and experience to influence families of all social and economic strata.