Why We Need Superhero Stories #SuperHERoTales

illustration by Samual Dixon
for "SuperHERo Tales: A Collection of Female Superhero Stories (Volume 2)"

Why We Need Superhero Stories 

Superhero stories give us something to believe in. There are 4,200 recorded religions in the world.People with no religious affiliation now make up the third-largest group in the world. Whether you hold a religious belief or not, most people have a set of morals that they adhere to. Superheroes are known for standing up for what is right. They give us someone to look up to.

Superhero stories give us hope. The world is changing fast, and people are becoming more cynical every day. When we can't trust our politicians and leaders, who can we trust? The news shows us every day that there are people in the world who do awful things. But superhero stories show us that there can be good people in the world too, and that the world and the people in it are worth fighting for.

Superhero stories are inspirational. They give us ideas and the urge to do better. Their stories inspire us to make our own lives into something more worthwhile. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word "inspiration" means "something that makes someone want to do something or that gives someone an idea about what to do or create : a force or influence that inspires someone." Superheroes do this for us.

Superhero stories are aspirational. According to the Oxford dictionary, the word "aspiration" (in this context) means "hope or ambition of achieving something." Superhero stories make us want to achieve more, for ourselves and for the world.

Superhero stories let us see our potential for positive change within ourselves. Superheroes struggle too, maybe not in the same ways that normal humans do, but making the right choices can be just as difficult for them as it can be for your every day non-super-powered person. We get to see the journey they take as they become a superhero, and we get to see how they change for the better throughout that journey. Superhero stories show us that, despite being difficult, it is always worth doing the right thing.

Superhero stories let us see our potential for positive change within the world. Comic book superheroes have changed over the years to reflect the changes in society. But one thing most of these superheroes have in common is the desire to make the world a better place, a safer place for the people in it. For us, this can mean working towards more equality in the workplace, fighting towards more environmentally-friendly corporate policies, or helping feed the homeless. The world is constantly changing and superhero stories show us that, sometimes, it's up to us to make sure that those changes are for the better.

Superhero stories bring light to a sometimes dark world. One thing that superhero stories tend to have in common is that good always wins out over evil in the end. The villains get their comeuppance and the hero saves the person they love and the world. No matter how dark the superheroes story gets, it will brighten by the time the story wraps up.

SuperHERo Tales: Volume 3 - submission changes

The changes to the submission policy are typed in blue.

SuperHERo Tales (Volume 3):

You need to create a character. She is female and a 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.  Feedback from the previous two anthologies is that readers would like the stories to be longer and fuller, so for volume three, we are going to request that stories be anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000 words long. This story 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."

E-mail your story to me using the "contact me" button in the top right corner.

Because this is for charity, there will be no payment, but your name will be listed as a contributing author and you will have an author bio (which you will have to send in) near the end of the book. (You will need to send in your author bio along with your story submission. It should be one paragraph, written in third person, and it can include links to your websites.

A contract will be sent out to authors whose stories have been accepted for the anthology.

image via TrophyStore.co.uk

There will be a trophy for the best submitted story. It will be a female superhero statue, unless that trophy is no longer available.

Deadline: September 30th, 2016

Art submissions: This anthology is for a charity that benefits girls, and as we are creating female superheroes in the comic tradition, we are looking for some superhero drawings to represent the superheroes. E-mail me for a list of the descriptions of the superheroes that have been added to the anthology so far if you plan on submitting a drawing or more than one drawing. Because this is for charity, there will be no payment, but your name will be listed as the artist and you will have an artist bio (which you will have to send in) near the end of the book. We reserve the right not to use any illustrations in the anthology. We are looking for superheroines drawn in the comic book style only. We are only looking for art that looks professional, so we won't be able to accept all art.

Note: If you contributed a story/superhero to a previous SuperHERo Tales, you may write about the same superhero, but must have a different piece of fiction about her - readers must learn something new about your superheroine that they did not learn in the first anthology.

Please include a one-paragraph, third-person artist bio with your submission. Website links to your sites may are allowed within reason.

Deadline: September 30th, 2016

A portion of the proceeds from the anthology will go to 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."