The Simmering Mind

Simmer Starters today: young adult novel key elements, why boys should play with sticks, how fiction helps us reimagine life for the disabled, how to speak geek, and more.  There are a lot of links today because I forgot last week.  I hope you find some useful things here!

How SciFi and Fantasy Can Help Us Reimagine the Lives of the Disabled (Stant Lirore) – I love this fascinating topic – how fiction opens doors to show us the lives of others, and can even make the real world better.  Pardon the long quote: “Scifi and fantasy have often glorified the supremely able, the man of great sinews and strength who can stand against a thousand with his axe one-handed, with his ray-gun or phaser, or with his donkey’s jawbone.  But almost as often, scifi and fantasy have opened doors to looking at the least able in our own society. SF imagines the technologies that improve the lives of the disabled, and fantastic fiction grows the mental and heart muscles we use to place ourselves in the shoes of others…”

5 Key Ingredients All Young Adult Novels Must Have (Katie McCoach) – I do not agree with all these points by any means…another case of rigid “rules” that are not actually rules.  But there’s some good food for thought here about writing to teen readers, stuff worth at least considering.

Utah Photographer Helps Kids with Cancer Live Their Fairy Tale Dreams (People) – This is just fun, and cool.  What a neat idea.

Lands of Ash: Author Interview with H.L. Burke (Clean Indie Reads) – An interview with one of my favorite authors about one of my favorite books!

Should Books Have Content Ratings? (Nadine Brandes) – Now here’s some interesting food for thought!  Where do you stand on this?

Boys with Sticks (Simcha Fisher) – LOVE this.  “Boys who are never allowed to be wild are boys who never learn how to control that wildness. Boys who are not allowed to whack and be whacked with sticks never learn what fighting is like. What’s so bad about that? Well, they may end up hitting someone weak, with no idea how much it hurts to be hit. Or they may end up standing by while the strong go after the weak – and have no idea that it’s their job to put a stop to it.

Three Ways We Fight For Our Families (Kim Cash Tate, DesiringGod blog) – I enjoyed this post about not giving up and continuing to fight the good fight to love our families.  “In our cozy kitchens, amid roasted chicken and good conversation, how easy it is to forget that we’re in a war. We are daily assaulted by thoughts and suggestions that ease into our stream of consciousness. They fit the situation perfectly and bend to our way of thinking. So we welcome them, though they are meant for our destruction.”

How To Speak Geek: Fantasy Version (Zachary Totah) – I’ve been enjoying Zachary’s blog, which I found recently.  He blogs entertaining posts on sci-fi and fantasy, like this humorous one on what people really mean when they pull out various quotes from fantasy fandoms.

You’ve Ruined My Life, Professor Craig! (William Lane Craig) – This was fascinating…a letter from an atheist whose arguments for atheism have been toppled, yet who can’t bring himself to believe in God.  I don’t know if I agree with all the professor’s responses on how to go about “finding” God, but I love a lot of his advice in his response too.  If you read it, pray for the former atheist when you finish! <3