Amber Ravatsaas, Writer

Christian Fiction for Young Adults

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January 6, 2021 by Amber

How I Create Writing Prompts

Last year I began an Instagram account dedicated to writing prompts. I’ve always enjoyed reading and doing them, so I decided to give it a try. A little over six months later, and I am still going strong! I thought that it might be fun to go over my process for creating them.

First, I pick an emotional wound or setting that interests me. Then, I write everything that goes along with it. Let’s take the setting of a wedding. What do you see? Hear? Smell? What actions happen?

Sights: Stained glass windows, lectern, wooden pews, flowers, men tugging at uncomfortable collars, uncomfortable shoes, bible verses projected, family being seated, programs passed out.

Sounds: Children squirming, hushed piano music, clearing throats, coughs, sniffles, microphone checks, camera

Smells: Coffee, perfume, cologne, mints.

Actions: runaway bride, judgment from family members, having trouble forgiving and moving on, family drama, an ex showing up uninvited, or a fight breaking out between bride and groom.

After I get a few ideas running through my head, I will begin writing scenarios related to the sighs, sounds, smells, and actions I have previously written.

Here are a few prompts I came up with from the above:

–With one final reflective glance, she was gone forever.

–Pinched toes were not the only affliction she hid the day.

–Her focus was on the door that stood between denial and admittance.

When I choose an emotional wound, I think of the lies resulting from those wounds, fears they may have, and how one would respond. Let’s look at an unexpected pregnancy.

Lies: They’ll never be able to accomplish their dreams, the baby is the source of all their problems, love is temporary.

Fears: abandonment, fear, judgment, always being alone.

Responses: looking for a replacement, doubting mothering skills, wallowing in self-pity.

Examples:

–ย I did something I can never take back.

–For if they knew the truth, they would want nothing to do with a soul as damaged and broken as hers.โ €

–The one thing she is good at is running away from her problems.

That’s it! It does take some time, but I find it enjoyable to create different scenarios, and it helps in my writing to come up with ideas and plot twists. Sometimes I’ll even use portions of my writing that I won’t be using any longer. Regardless of how awful I think a prompt is, I write it down. You never know when or how you’ll use them in the future.


If you like writing prompts, I will encourage you to follow my Instagram account, and if you use any of my prompts, use the hashtag #PromptedToWrite <3

August 26, 2020 by Amber

Using Roam Research to Outline Your Novel

My mother introduced me to this fantastic note-taking app called Roam Research. I’ve been using it for a while and have to say, it’s precisely what I have been looking for! I’ve tried Evernote, OneNote, and various other note-taking apps, but this one works the best for me.

I have two graphs, one for my daily life called Amber and the other called Series Bible. When you log in, the first page you see is called daily notes. It’s where you can do a brain dump about the day. Each of my children has a page within Roam, and so when I click their name, I get a breakdown of what they did or something funny they said on a day to day basis.

My mom and I are reading Allie Beth Stuckey’s new book called, “You’re not enough (and that’s ok)” it’s REALLY good!!! #afflink

Making pages in Roam is so easy, all you have to do is type [[ ]] and whatever word(s) is between the brackets will become a new page. You can also use the # to create new pages, but they have to be one word. The blue words (pages) you can click on and see the other places you mentioned that specific word, phrase, name, etc.

If you ever get stuck or forget a key command, click the handy little question mark in the bottom right corner, and a box will pop up, providing you with the most useful key commands. Also, if you want a page to show up under the shortcuts click the star in the upper right corner.

So, now, how to use it to outline.

I set-up a page with the working title of my novel, and then linked the various pages that go along with it. When I click the setting, it will lead me to a page with the two cities my novel takes place in. There I can make mental notes of the weather or other fun, interesting facts that may be useful. The plot leads to my elevator pitch, the outline to my three-act structure.

When I click on the Opening image, it leads me to a page that describes what this act should entail. I use the space above to pinpoint specific things that have to take place and people we have to meet.

My character page contains, my characters. When you click on a name it takes you to a page showing all about that specific character.

Here it even breaks it down by each act where her name is mentioned and what she’s doing. For some reason, this way of taking notes works the best with my brain. I love that everything is in order, labeled, and I can easily find what I need. It’s a bit pricey at $15 a month, but you get a 31-day trial to see if you like it before buying it.

You can find a bunch of videos about Roam on YouTube that will give you a more in-depth look at the things you can do within this app. I haven’t even scratched the surface ๐Ÿ™‚ If you end up trying it, let me know what you think!

Roam Research does not have an affiliate program, just love the app ๐Ÿ˜‰


Interested in writing prompts? Check out my blog So Novalike!

August 14, 2020 by Amber

Redemption

This year’s theme has been redemption, mostly because that’s what the story I am working on is about. The daily reminder that I am never too far gone for God’s grace is a sobering thought. By no means does this mean sin all you want and ask for forgiveness, then you’re golden. If you’re truly in Christ, you will desire to love and obey His commands.

๐˜•๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜Ž๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ข ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ, ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜Ž๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ’๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜Ž๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ.
1 ๐™…๐™ค๐™๐™ฃ 3:9

My main character runs away from her problems, feeling as if she’s too broken and damaged to be loved by anyone, especially Christ. We’ve all felt that way, at least I know I have. Things seem to be spiraling out of control, and we turn to everything but the one thing we need, Christ.

๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ถ๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜Š๐˜ฉ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ต. ๐˜๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜Š๐˜ฉ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ. ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ง๐˜ฆ ๐˜ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ ๐˜ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜บ ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜š๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜Ž๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ง ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ. ๐˜Ž๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ด 2:20

Christ’s blood delivers and redeems us. When we feel too far gone, we should come back to the truths of God’s word. We are new creations, who we were in the past is no longer who we are today.

๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ช๐˜ง ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜Š๐˜ฉ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ต, ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ข ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ ๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ. ๐˜–๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ด ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜บ; ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ, ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ด ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ. 2 ๐˜Š๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ. 5:17

July 25, 2020 by Amber

Stories about Redemption

I need your help dear readers, what are some of your favorite stories in the Bible about redemption?

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โ € #question What are some of your favorite stories about redemption from the Bible?โ € โ€ข โ € โ€ข โ € โ€ข โ € โ€ข โ € โ€ข โ € Love writing prompts? Follow @sonovalike —————–โ € #questions #amwriting #writerscommunity #instawriting #spilledthoughts #writingislife #christianfiction #christianwriters #yawriter #fictionwriter #writerslife #aspiringwriter #amwritingyaromance #acfwcommunity #writingprompts #amwritingya #quotes #cleanromance #write #storyideas #prompt #writersofinstagram #writersofig #writing #writersnetwork #aspiringwriters #embersgram #redemption #bible

A post shared by Amber (@amberravwrites) on Jul 23, 2020 at 5:20pm PDT

    July 25, 2020 by Amber

    Writing Motivation

    Anyone else needed this motivation today? I sure did.

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    โ € Anyone else needed this reminder today?!? ๐Ÿ™‹โ€โ™€๏ธโ € โ€ข โ € โ€ข โ € โ€ข โ € โ€ข โ € โ€ข โ € Enjoy writing prompts? Head over to @sonovalikeโ € —————–โ € #writersblock #amwriting #writerscommunity #instawriting #spilledthoughts #writingislife #christianfiction #christianwriters #yawriter #fictionwriter #writerslife #aspiringwriter #amwritingyaromance #embersgram #raybradbury #amwritingya #quotes #inspiringquotes #write #writersofinstagram #writersofig #writing #writersnetwork #aspiringwriters #justkeepwriting #acfwcommunity #writerquotes

    A post shared by Amber (@amberravwrites) on Jul 22, 2020 at 4:07pm PDT

    January 24, 2020 by Amber

    Ink-stained Fingers

    Ink-stained fingers inscribed words on a page, some remain in my mind persistently expanding until they age.

    January 23, 2020 by Amber

    Perfection Suffocates Creativity

    Perfection is the killer of creativity. When we aim for perfection, we fail to take risks and try to meet other’s standards instead of trying to achieve our own.โฃโฃ
    โฃโฃ
    โฃโฃPerfection shouldn’t be our intention; instead, let’s concentrate on progress and making strides in our own time, no one else’s. Don’t be afraid to fail, and don’t be scared to try, you learn the most from your shortcomings.โฃโฃ
    โฃโฃ

    December 30, 2019 by Amber

    In lieu of a Word

    โฃSo instead of coming up with a word for the new year, I have set a purpose or plan that I aim to accomplish. My intention this year is to be more intentional. I want to deliberately spend more time with the Lord, my husband, children, family and friends, and less on social media. I want to live in the moment and be with them taking the time to have deep, meaningful conversations, one on one time getting to know them better, and have more experiences than things.โฃโฃ
    โฃโฃโฃโฃ
    โฃโฃHave you come up with a word or intention for the new year? Iโ€™d love to hear it, drop a comment below!

    June 25, 2019 by Amber

    Dealing With Imposter Syndrome

    As a writer, I have these thoughts often, am I good enough? Will I ever be good enough? There are amazing writers, I will never be that good. First, I need to stop striving to be someone that I am not and second; they didnโ€™t get there overnight. Practice makes progress, not perfect because none of us will ever be perfect. God has me on the path I am on and I need to stop listening to the voices around me telling me otherwise. 

    โ€œDo you need someone to make you a paper badge with the word โ€˜WRITER’ on it before you can believe you are one?โ€

    –Stephen King

    All writers, I have realized, have these same thoughts running through their minds. We all feel as if someone will find out what a fraud we are and our “fake it until you make it” attitude will be exposed for what it truly is. The truth of the matter is we aren’t fake at all. We love the craft of writing and forming words into sentences and pages and books.

    โ€œWe are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.โ€

    –Ernest Hemingway

    Fiction writing is subjective. It’s based upon our thoughts and the things WE imagine and come up with. No one else can delve into your brain and write what you do. We need your voice in the Christian community, your ideas, your thoughts. Don’t hide that creative spark and passion that the Lord gave you.

    โ€œBad writers tend to have self-confidence, while the good ones tend to have self-doubt.โ€

    -Charles Bukowski

    I went back the other day and read over my first novel that I wrote; it was awful, and I am not being hard on myself- it was awful. Now I look at my recent work and can see the improvements over the years and areas that still need work. So we work on those areas and we do our best! Iโ€™m in a large critique group as a member of the ACFW and it was difficult getting back that first critique from my WIP, but you do not understand how helpful their advice was. I want to put something out into the world that I did my best at, something that I can be proud of. There will be people that donโ€™t like it and I am ok with that because I didnโ€™t write my novel for them. 


    June 23, 2019 by Amber

    Setting a Writing Schedule

    As a mom of three littles and a homeschooler on top of it things get chaotic and busy. My writing life is in the evening when the kids have gone to bed, but thatโ€™s also the time that I spend with my husband, clean the house, you get where I am going with this.Iโ€™ve been pondering the reasons I havenโ€™t finished my novel yet. One of those being, I havenโ€™t treated my work as a job. To me, it was more like a hobby, something I did in my spare time. 

    Balancing life between raising my littles and working on my writing is difficult. Can I do the thing I love and desire without sacrificing my children, husband and relationship with the Lord? Looking at my schedule and the season of life I am in my husband and I have come up with something that works for our family! It will look different for everyone but there is no right way or wrong way to do this. Weโ€™ll start small and go from there, one day a week I will either go out or lock myself in the bedroom and write. Once I come home, or downstairs, my computer goes off and I spend my time with my family. Itโ€™s a simple change, but itโ€™s a move toward making this more than a hobby.

    Iโ€™ve learned to bring my laptop with me wherever I go and when I have a moment, I will write. I use the voice recorder on my apple watch to remember things when I am driving, the note app on my phone catches everything else, and my journal goes more into depth about the ins and outs of my day. This helps when I sit to write I can quickly scan my notes and begin writing. All of that to say, I donโ€™t want to waste time when I should be writing. 

    What does your writing schedule look like? How do you balance writing with littles?

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    ๐ŸŒฟI write Christian fiction for young adults and cannot wait to share my stories & characters with you!

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