Creating a Female Superhero - Beryllium by Cecilia Clark #CAFSC

This is my friend Cecilia Clark's entry in the Creating a Female Superhero Challenge. Go here for details of how you can enter too.

by Cecilia Clark

Word Count 983
Anthology: YES

Charity of choice: Amnesty International (any women's program)

Title: Out of the Blue

Name of female superhero: Beryllium (made up  by her side kick who is  a nerdy scientist guy. Beryl = blue and  Illium = bone of the upper pelvis and some references to a Tolkien character and berrylium being a rare element)

Name of human alter ego, if different: Leslie Pace

Superhero Appearance (hair, eyes, body type, etc.): same as human self but covered in gold and purple lycra

Human alter ego appearance (if she has an alter ego): 18, long chestnut brown hair, brown eyes, light tanned-olive skin, 165cm, fi,t toned, athletic body 

Costume: Gold and purple skin tight lycra body suit with hood that folds down her face and covers her to her nose tip. Gold and magenta cape.  Magenta boots.

Personality: friendly, kind, smart, thoughtful, a little bit irreverent, fun

Brief description of how the superheroine gets her powers (i.e. born with them, radioactive accident, mad scientist experiments on her, etc.): developed at onset of puberty with no warning and no explanation why

Powers: so far she had flight, GPS mind, TBA

Anything else important: She is helped by her best friend since preschool, Josh Bellvedere the only son of a wealthy couple. He is super smart, a scientist and is her manager and promoter. She is gradually discovering new powers. Josh enrols her in 3 martial arts, one weapons club, swimming and dance lessons for poise and balance and then enrols her in circus arts.

Out of the Blue

“Why am I wearing skin tight lycra, again?” Leslie was shivering in a gold and magenta body suit. She pulled the hood up over her head and down over her eyes, adjusting  it so she could see clearly through the holes.  Her friend Josh handed her the silk lined cape they had sewn together.

“Because Superhero’s need aerodynamic, streamlined clothing” he intoned, slipping into lecture mode in his usual scientific manner, "to move through the elements efficiently, anything else would add drag and resistance to your movement. Now step up on the edge, it's time for your inaugural flight. You know that lycra is double layered to give you plenty of support and protection so the shivering is more to do with fear than temperature.” Josh ran his hands through his sandy red hair.

“Stop that Josh you're making me nervous.” Leslie flipped the cape behind her shoulders and stood poised for the flight. “You are right; I am scared. It is so much higher than all the other trials.” 

“This is not a trial run Leslie, I mean Beryllium.”  Leslie rolled her eyes.  “You know you're ready. We have practiced and practiced. You are in peak fitness and ready to go. Stop procrastinating and get going already.” He shoved her firmly in the lower back sending her tumbling into the empty air twenty five stories above the street. 

The air rushed into her face so quickly she was unable to draw a breath to scream.

“Come on Leslie, pull up. Get it together. You can do this.” Josh watched her fall and frowned as he repeated a litany of encouragement she was unlikely to hear. He started to chew his lip as she neared the lower floors without change. “Damn it Leslie, you don’t get superpowers to go and waste them on a bit of jitters.” His voice rose to a shout.” Fly, damn you, fly!” And suddenly she was levelling off and turning into an upward arc, her magnificent magenta and purple cape rippling behind her.  “Yes! Yes!” he punched the air and leapt up and down on the spot losing his balance and tripping over the edge of the roof , crazily spinning his arms in a parody of wing flapping as he fell backwards into the empty sky twenty five stories above the street.

“Lesssssssliiiiieeeeeeeeee…” He screamed as he plummeted. 

Abruptly his fall was halted. Two strong, slender arms caught him behind his knees and shoulders.

“You sure know how to fall for a girl,” she yelled in his ear as air rushed by them both.  Josh grabbed her across the shoulders and clung on for dear life. “Josh not so hard, you're choking me.” He released his grip minutely but kept his eyes tightly squeezed shut to avoid the view.  “I’ll take you home.” She veered slightly in her flight direction. Josh stiffened in her arms.

“No, you can’t. People will recognise us. Put me down in the park or near a bus stop or something. You’ll never have any private life if they know who you are. Just put me down and go rescue someone.”

“I thought I had rescued someone?” Leslie smirked.

“I can hear you smirking. Now put me down somewhere safe.” Josh scolded with his eyes tight shut.

Leslie gently alighted on a footpath near a bus stop. People waiting for the bus stared with wide open mouths, nudging and pointing. She helped Josh to his feet and he opened his eyes.

“Thank you for saving me, Miss.” Josh put his hand out and Leslie awkwardly shook hands with him. Leslie took a slight hopping step and leapt into the air, she heard Josh telling the bystanders,  “It was amazing! She just came out of the blue and rescued me. She’s a real live superhero.”

Leslie smiled at her self-appointed manager and now promoter. The feel of the cape helped her to adjust her movements to take advantage of the minute shifts in the air currents to propel herself forward.  She soared up into the sky enjoying the drop in temperature after the exertions of catching Josh. He would complain if she flew too high or became too cold but how would he know down there on the ground, catching a bus home. Ordinary everyday Josh, she thought with a twinge of guilt, could keep his nanny nagging to himself.  She settled into a steady pace and flew on and on simply enjoying the flight for its own sake.

She had promised Josh she would do good things with her powers but she was still discovering them. She could fly, that was obvious, but what else.  She was pretty strong, catching and carrying Josh hadn’t been too strenuous and he had insisted she work out every day since they had discovered her ability to fly.  That day  five years ago, they were playing some crazy ball game in the house, just like they had since they were preschoolers  and  had hit his mother’s most  expensive artsy statue.  Leslie had leapt for it, caught it and not landed straight away.  Just like that she had changed from ordinary school girl to freak.

Her muscles starting to tire; it was time to head home but where was she?  Heart racing in panic, her palms grew sweaty then suddenly her mind switched into GPS mode. She knew exactly where she was and how far she had come and how to get home. She blinked her eyes and realised a new power had blossomed in her head.  Josh was going to love this. She had flown over a thousand kilometres without knowing it.  She headed home getting wearier and lower until finally she landed and began to walk. 

“I better tell Josh to sew a pocket in this outfit for a phone. It’s his turn to rescue me.”

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Fire Angel - Creating a Female Superhero Challenge #CAFSC

This is my entry for the Creating a Female Superhero Challenge. It's ineligible for the competition, but I thought I'd put something here to give everyone an idea of the format. Details for the competition and the anthology can be found here.  This was just a quickly done entry, so I plan on writing a more thought-out one later. but I hope this gives you an idea of how it should be presented on your blog post.

Author: Rebecca Fyfe
word count: 828 words
Anthology: YES
Charity: Because I Am a Girl

found on Pinterest here

Name of female superhero: Fire Angel

Name of human alter ego, if different: Kelly Martin

Superhero Appearance (hair, eyes, body type, etc.): long, curly red hair that is usually worn down, freckles, green eyes, short, slightly plump and curvy, usually wears jeans and a t-shirt

Human alter ego appearance (if she has an alter ego): long, curly red hair tied up in a high and tight ponytail, freckles, green eyes, short, slightly plump and curvy, has large, wings that are a combination of brown, orange, red and white, wears the costume described below

Costume: black leather trousers, form-fitting but not too snug, and a black leather vest-type of shirt with an open back that just has ties across it to makes room for her wings, a small leather eye-mask across her eyes to help hide her identity.

Personality: feisty, temperamental, tries to hide her insecurities by acting brazen, has a soft side but tries to hide it, impulsive, adventurous

Brief description of how the superheroine gets her powers (i.e. born with them, radioactive accident, mad scientist experiments on her, etc.): She has a very clever friend create a chemical that will alter her DNA.

Powers: wings, super strength, faster than normal healing,

Anything else important: Her friend Camryn is a genius when it comes to manipulating DNA and working with chemicals. Camryn is a superheroine in her own right. Kelly and Camryn are best friends and fiercely loyal to one another.

                                     Fire Angel: The Beginning

Kelly looked in the small tube of liquid. This was going to change things. No more being afraid. No more waiting to be saved. Once she drank this liquid down, she’d be able to save herself. She held the bottle up to her lips.

“Kelly, you can’t just drink it,” Camryn reached out her hand as if to stop her. “We haven’t tested it on human subjects yet.”

Kelly didn’t hestitate. She downed the beaker of liquid in one swallow. “Too late now, Cam.”

Camryn, already used to Kelly’s impulsiveness from the years of friendship they’d spent together, just shrugged. They would find out if it worked or not, and if not, she’d work on something to counteract it.

“That was stupid, Kelly. What if it has really awful side effects?”

“That’s what you’re here for, Cam. You’ll figure out how to fix it if it goes wrong. You’re good at this science-y stuff.”

Camryn looked her best friend over. Kelly’s long, fiery red hair matched her impulsive and feisty temper, but the smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks made her look deceptively soft. Kelly was wearing jeans and a white peasant blouse. Her body was a little on the plump side, but instead of looking overweight, she just seemed curvy in a way that guys drooled over. Cam envied Kelly’s confidence with the opposite sex.

But no matter how much Kelly appeared to have it all, Kelly hadn’t been happy for a long time, which is kind of what had brought them to this moment. Kelly's brother had been the victim of a brutal attack last year. Although he had survived the attack, Kelly had hated not being able to help him. She had hated that feeling of helplessness. Instead of retreating into herself, the way Camryn knew she herself would have, Kelly had let herself grow angry.

And when the newest super villain had snatched her as his hostage just a few short months ago, leaving Kelly to be rescued by their local superhero, the Bullet, Kelly had become even more enraged. Kelly had explained to Camryn how much she wanted to be able to fight back and not have to wait around for someone to save her every time something like this happened.

It had been three years since the first true superhero had shown up in the world. And since then, the number of superheroes had grown. The problem was that the superheroes had been followed by the appearance of supervillains , to the point where all sorts of disasters and evil plots were having to be diverted on a daily basis.

Camryn may not have Kelly’s looks or charisma, but Camryn was smart, really smart. And Kelly had devised a plan which involved Camryn’s knowledge of chemicals and DNA manipulation.  Camryn was proud of the fact that, once Kelly had set her to her task, it had taken her a mere 53 days to come up with the chemical that could alter a person’s genetics, giving them a mutation that would, hopefully, make the person stronger.

 Of course, mutations could do other things, Camryn started to worry. Genetic make-up was so unique to each person that there was no way to know what form the mutation could take. Kelly could wind up with an extra set of eyes or turning into some sort-of lizard-human mutant. But Kelly knew the risks. Camryn had been clear with her from the beginning that this was really just a crapshoot.

Camryn looked at Kelly again. So far, nothing had changed about her friend’s appearance, but was anything happening on the inside?  “How are you feeling, Kel?”

“I don’t think anything’s happening. Are you sure you gave me the right tube?”

Just as the words left her mouth, Kelly gasped, bending forward and grabbing her stomach. “Oh! Ow!” She stood up again, breathing hard. “That hurt! What’s happening?”

“You’re changing!” Camryn was trembling, whether from excitement or fear, she wasn’t sure.

Kelly cried out in pain. “Cam, something’s wrong! I feel like I’m being ripped apart from the inside.” She started panting and curled up on the floor. “Make it stop!”

“I can’t!” Camryn was really worried. What if the chemical compound she’d created killed her best friend?

Kelly started screaming as her skin, in two long lines along her back, started to peel back, blood pouring down from the open wounds. She continued screaming as Camryn watched something growing from those broken and ripped apart lines of blood and flesh.

When it was over, Kelly lay passed out on the floor, lying in a large pool of blood. Camryn put two fingers against Kelly’s neck, checking for a pulse and, surprisingly, found a strong one.  She reached a hand tentatively out to touch one large wing. The feathers were real. It was real. How could this be? She knew some of the physical mutations could end up being visible, but wings?  Covered in blood, with her clothes torn and her red curls falling riotously over her face, Kelly looked like an avenging angel.  What have I done?

Creating a Female Superhero Challenge #CAFSC

image found on Pinterest

I was trying to keep this contest a secret until I officially announced it on June 1st. Why June 1st? Well, I have some other projects going on right now (like the creation of the anthology of fractured fairy tales for the Chapter Book Challenge), and I thought June 1st would be easier for me. 

The problem with keeping this contest a secret until June is that, while I am good at keeping other people's secrets, I am terrible at keeping my own. And this is a project that has me too excited to keep to myself! Because of this, I was leaving hints all over the place, especially when I started telling people about my disgust with the lack of really riveting female superheroes in current media and about the female superhero I am creating and writing a story for at this time. (Okay, I admit that there are quite a few really cool female superheroes out there, but they don't get the media attention that the male superheroes do. How many female superhero toys can you find out there? How many female superhero t-shirts and other gift merchandise are easily available? And even the movies put a lot of focus on the men. Also, don't even get me started on the way a lot of comic book female superheroes DRESS!)

I have daughters, five of them. And I want them to feel like they can achieve anything in life that they put their minds to. I want them to know that they are STRONG. I want them to respect themselves and believe in themselves.I also have sons, two of them. And while I want them to grow up knowing that they are strong and capable and able of achieving their own dreams, I want them to also know that women are as capable of achieving great things as men are and that both women and men have equal value in our world. I want them to respect women.

This is where my dilemma with the lack of female superheroes comes into the picture. Last year, I ran a small flash fiction contest asking the contributors to write princess stories but stories about strong princesses, to buck the stereotype and write something about strong girls and women. The winning story, a story about little girls arguing about how their doll princesses should dress, called "My Princess Wears a Superhero Cape" by Melissa Gijsbers, was a wonderful example about the limitations of gender stereotypes. (Melissa has changed the story a great deal since the contest and is currently trying to get a publisher for it as a children's picture book. I hope she succeeds as I would love to buy her book for my own children.)

Ever since then, the idea for this challenge has been brewing inside of me. About six weeks ago, I decided exactly what this challenge was going to entail. I originally had no plans on it going past being anything but a fun challenge with a prize for the winner. But then some of my friends, guessing what I was going to do, suggested I do more with this contest. They suggested an anthology be created with the entries, to be sold to raise money for a charity for girls.

Before I tell you about the details of the challenge, let me tell you about the charity idea. I have no idea what charity to contribute to. So if we are going to do this, I need your help deciding which charity we should donate to. Here is a list of charities that benefit girls.


Spark Summit

From the site:

"SPARK is a girl-fueled activist movement to demand an end to the sexualization of women and girls in media. We're collaborating with hundreds of girls 13-22 and more than 60 national organizations to reject the commodified, sexualized images of girls in media and support the development of girls' healthy sexuality and self-esteem."

Because I Am a Girl

From the website: "

"Because I am a Girl is a global initiative to end gender inequality, promote girls’ rights and lift millions of girls – and everyone around them – out of poverty.

Girls in the poorest regions of the world are among the most disadvantaged people on the planet. They are more likely to live in poverty, more likely to be denied access to education, more likely to be denied medical care, and more likely to be malnourished, simply because they’re girls. And yet, studies show that if you give a girl enough to eat, an education and a safe environment, she’ll work to raise the standard of living for herself, her family and her community.

 We operate a wide range of programs worldwide to improve the status of girls and give them equal access to health care, education, protection, independence, and an opportunity to participate in society.

Our State of the Worlds Girls report series is an ongoing investigation to shine the light on specific barriers to young girls’ development and their access to basic human rights."

Girl, Inc.

From the website:

"Girls Inc. inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and boldSM through life-changing programs and experiences that help girls navigate gender, economic, and social barriers. Research-based curricula, delivered by trained, mentoring professionals in a positive all-girl environment equip girls to achieve academically; lead healthy and physically active lives; manage money; navigate media messages; and discover an interest in science, technology, engineering, and math. The network of local Girls Inc. nonprofit organizations serves 125,000 girls ages 6 - 18 annually across the United States and Canada."

Girls Leadership Institute

From the website:

"The Girls Leadership Institute inspires girls to be true to themselves. We teach the practices of emotional intelligence, assertive self-expression and healthy relationships, giving girls the skills and confidence to live as leaders.

For ten years, the Girls Leadership Institute (GLI) has awakened thousands of girls to a life of authentic leadership.  Co-founded by bestselling author and girl-expert Rachel Simmons, we are a national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization providing transformational programs to girls, their parents, and their educational communities.

At GLI, we offer camps and workshops designed to teach girls, educators and parents the core practices of emotional intelligence, healthy relationships, and assertive self-expression. Taught by professional, salaried instructors, all GLI programs use interactive lessons and theatre-based techniques to help girls connect with their emotions and practice the tools of building healthy, authentic relationships. The courses are age-appropriate and progressive, following girls’ developmental needs from grade school through high school."

These are the suggested charities to make the contributions go toward, but if you know of others, please let me know in the comments (or in your entry).

Now, let me explain the contest to you.

Creating a Female Superhero Challenge

First off, you need to create a character. She is female and superhero, but what she looks like, what her powers are, what she wears and what kind of personality she has is all up to you. Start by outlining these specific things:

Name of female superhero:

Name of human alter ego, if different:

Superhero Appearance (hair, eyes, body type, etc.):

Human alter ego appearance (if she has an alter ego):

Costume:

Personality:

Brief description of how the superheroine gets her powers (i.e. born with them, radioactive accident, mad scientist experiments on her, etc.):

Powers:

Anything else important:

Once you have filled these details in, write a flash fiction or short story, no less than 300 words long and no longer than 1,000 words, that is a complete scene. This scene can be one that shows how your character develops her powers, how she becomes a superhero. It can be a fight scene, showing how she uses her powers. It can be a romance scene (PG, please) showing how she interacts with her love interest (if she has one). It can be anything you want it to be that shows some aspect of your character, something important to her life. It doesn't have to be a complete story, but it must be a complete scene. Think of it as if you have your own TV series dedicated to your superhero, and this short story is one episode of the series. (That suggests it should at least have an end to the scene, even though everyone watching/reading knows that the story continues.)

At the beginning of the page, before starting the list, type your name and the word count. Then type the word "anthology:" and add "yes" or "no" to let me know whether or not you want your submission included in the anthology. If we create the anthology, the proceeds will go to one of the charities. So if you say "yes" to the anthology, then please type underneath it the name of the charity that you would vote for, either one of the ones listed above or a different charity for girls. (The charity with the most votes will be the one chosen.)

Now, there is one more thing that, if this does become an anthology (print and ebook), would be great. Pictures of the superheroes. So, once the contest ends, if there are enough entries for an anthology, I am going to ask if anyone would like to donate drawings of the superheroes using the stories as drawing guides. The drawing need to be comic-book style. And it doesn't need to be just one person creating the artwork. (Yes, you can donate a drawing done by you of your character.)

The contest is meant to be fun. The anthology is going to be a major undertaking though. I'm still very excited about it, and I hope you are too!

The challenge begins on June 1st and runs through June 30th. The winner will be announced on August 7th.

Prizes:1st Prize:

- A trophy, proclaiming you the winner of the "Creating a Female Superhero Challenge"
- A print copy of  "The Everything Guide to Writing Graphic Novels: From superheroes to manga - all you need to start creating your own graphic works" by Mark Ellis and Melissa Martin-Ellis

2nd prize:

 - A Superhero Writer t-shirt


3rd prize:

 - A Superhero Writer mug

I want you to take your time creating your superhero. That's why I am giving you a whole month to submit and two weeks before submissions begin to prepare. Make your submission as creative and powerful as you possibly can make it. How to submit: Post your submission to your blog and link it in the linky that will be added to this post on June 1st. If you do not have a blog of your own, let me know by e-mailing me or messaging me through Facebook, and I will post your submission in my own blog under your name. Submissions will close on midnight, June 30th.

Good luck!



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What's Stopping You From Achieving Your Dreams As a Writer? #IWSG

This is my fifth monthly Insecure Writer's Support Group post. The IWSG is hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. The purpose of the IWSG is:

 "to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!"

My husband has recently asked me when I'm going to start submitting my book to agents and publishers. Or when I am going to self-publish it. I think he was just trying to subtly point out to me that at some point, I have to let go of my insecurity enough to start sharing my stories. I don't have a problem with sharing my short stories or my flash fiction pieces. I get nervous about my novels though.

And because of this, I keep putting off the editing and revising of these novels. Then, when people offer to critique, I can truthfully tell them that it's "not ready yet." But at the rate I am going, using procrastination and self-doubt as excuses, I will never get my books published.

I read a lot. And because of this, I have read some really great books, which make me feel like my writing is inadequate (i.e. How will I ever write this well?) and some really awful books. I've also read some books that have potential, but are clearly written by amateurs, people who published too soon, before their books were really ready. When I read these, I wonder if my books are any better. (i.e. What if this is as good my stories get? What if I let others read my stories and they think the same way about my books as I think about these books?)

But if I keep using excuses, if I keep letting laziness (procrastination) and fear keep me from pushing onward with my books, I will NEVER get them published, and getting my books published, having books that people read and love, is my dream. I have fought to achieve a dream before that others thought was impossible (losing 145+ lbs), and I succeeded. so why should I put any less effort and drive and dedication into pursuing this dream?

The answer is I shouldn't. I should be just as dedicated, work just as hard and go after this dream just as much as I went after that other dream. And you should too.

What is it that you are letting keep you from your dream? Is it worth it?



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