# The TF thread



## Zeus Juice (Jul 10, 2014)

I came into the furry community through transformation art (visual, liberal, etc...). I've always had a sort of thing for transformation, and though I felt a bit uncomfortable about it in the past, my ability to embrace it through TF art has put me where I am now: a weird person that likes animals that walk on two legs. I've been told that I can write decently in the past by individuals who genuinely meant what they said, and I've found that my favorite topic of writing just so happens to be in transformation. 

I made this thread to provide a medium for people to learn about and delve into the art of transformation fiction. Be it a brief sequence in a given part of a story, or an entire novel revolving around transformation, I hope that anyone who comes here can tell what they know, or learn a thing or two. I suppose I'm being somewhat vague, but enough of that. As stated before, I intend for this to be a thread for discussion of anything Transformation Fiction. 

If anyone thinks that this thread is stupid and poorly written, by all means let me know. I don't want to have to waste your time


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## Hikaru Okami (Jul 10, 2014)

If you're just talking about transformation in general like people turning into animals or plants I'll follow this thread. Could be interesting to see what others will have to say.

Edit: Are there plant transformers?


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## Zeus Juice (Jul 10, 2014)

Naw. I've yet to see a sequence of a person turning into a plant. More often, people turn into animals. Also, don't use the word transformers. On most cases, People are turned against their will, suddenly. If they are turned voluntarily, the transformation can be from an external source (drinking a potion, curses, injection, spell...)or self-induced. IMHO, I prefer the term shapeshifter to describe this, but it's really up to you. It's not like there's a book on TF (yet )


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## Troj (Jul 10, 2014)

Yup, I'm usually shy about this, but I might as well cop to being a TF enthusiast, too. I've been fascinated by TF ever since I was, oh, maybe 5 or 6, and TF was my gateway into furry things even before I self-identified as furry.


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## Zeus Juice (Jul 10, 2014)

grrside said:


> I consider me to be more of a transformation fan/fetishist than a "proper" furry. I've been obsessing over them since I was in kindergarden. In fact, when I was a teenager I thought that I had some undiscovered sexual orientation or something, then I found out about TF fans and furries and such.  My TF stories tend to be either extremely weird/gross or humorously absurd. Right now I'm even taking commissions just for TF stories.
> 
> And there ARE plant TFs, I once read a story about a boy who turned into a rosebush.



Heh. My point was that they were a very small minority.. I find it odd that TF can be such a gateway to the furry community. Personally, I prefer stories where people are turned into things against their will. I'd like to practice writing TF stories, but clearly, no one would throw their money at me to write stories about TF. How do I practice? I don't imagine that there aren't any tips and techniques that I haven't found out myself, but they'd be appreciated.


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## Nekokami (Jul 10, 2014)

Transformation? I've kinda got an interest in it.
Some TF sequences I've seen are quite good.


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## Zeus Juice (Jul 10, 2014)

Heh. Thanks for the help grrside. I'll see if I can write a quick little story at one point or another. Though, I do think that it would be a bit fun to take a random sort of scenario request from you lovelies. I'll write a short little story based on what you guys want me to write (or because I'm too lazy.) I think It'd be good practice.

(BTW I don't think that I talk like myself on this forum. IMHO i think I sound like an asshole. Sorry if I do.)


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## Mr. Sparta (Jul 11, 2014)

I'm in a love/hate relationship with TF, it freaks me out. Possibly because of loss of humanity or something, but i would love to transform into something else and be the star of my own TF story. It just freaks me out when it happens to other people.

I confuse myself.


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## GarthTheWereWolf (Jul 11, 2014)

I definitely enjoy TF stuff. Lol, how could I be a werewolf enthusiast and not? If you're serious about writing a TF story and you want it to break into anything mainstream~ I would say avoid the fetish material you're likely to encounter in the fandom; stuff like all the ones with the raging boners as they transform. No bueno. (unless you're writing a dimestore romance novel. In which case go nuts with it lol) V:

Instead, try studying the classics of TF literature. Things like Kafka's Metamorphosis, H.P. Lovecraft's works like The Shadow Over Innsmouth, Whitley Strieber's The Wild, or even just something modern and mainstream like the plethora of urban fantasy shapeshifter novels out there.

Decide in advance the type of transformation you want the story to be about also. Is it going to be a purely metaphorical one? Is it actually happening or is it psychosis? Is the transformation going to be an allegory for something? Puberty is a common theme for that that lends itself well to the genre. Is the transformation meant to be something horrific and grotesque? Scary? Liberating? Fun? TF can go in so many different directions depending on the context of it.

Once you've got your theme you can focus on whether you want the TF to be the hook to the story (What draws the reader in at the start to stay for the rest of it) Or the payoff at the end after the promise and build-up. Both take the story in dramatically different directions.

Most of all, have fun with it V: as Grrside said, write what you love; it will be better for it.


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## Troj (Jul 11, 2014)

I like the psychological aspect of transformation most of all. It bums me out when a story has a person forget their transformation after the fact, not be aware or awake during their transformation, or not have any identifiable reaction to their transformation. 

When I write TF stories or sequences, I make a point to actually drill down into the actual thoughts, experiences, and emotions of the character having that experience.


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## Zeus Juice (Jul 11, 2014)

If agree with Troj. The details of a transformation and such may be the literal constituent of a work involving tf, but the emotions and people are just as important.  In a situation where one's humanity, how would one react? What would they feel, how would they cope, how do they go on from their transformation? I believe that this is the core theme for all works of transformation.

also, I'd love to write a story for mr. Sparta. Would you be ok with that?


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## Troj (Jul 11, 2014)

I also prefer descriptive or detailed TF sequences to ones where the camera/narrator basically says, "poof, he turned into a badger," or where the transformation takes place off-screen. The latter just feels cheapo.


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## Zeus Juice (Jul 11, 2014)

I'd agree. I find the most satisfaction in writing a tf story in describing the changes. It's neat to understand how getting turned into a wolf feels; how the muzzle develops, how the hands contort into paws and how a tail sprouts. I find it thrilling to imagine that. Also, I don't write nsfw tf. It would make me feel uncomfy.


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## Troj (Jul 11, 2014)

I've of course read my fair share of TF with NSFW elements, but a lot of NSFW TF focuses _too_ hard (huh huh huh huh) on the naughty bits at the exclusion of absolutely everything else.

There's something about TF which feels intimate and personal even WITHOUT NSFW elements--and, of course, there's the fact that it's a bonafide fetish for a lot of folks. I'm usually remiss to talk about TF for that reason.

I've actually done research on the senses and anatomy of other organisms so that I can more-or-less accurately describe what it's like to be, for example, an insect, or a wolf, or even, a mushroom.


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## Mr. Sparta (Jul 11, 2014)

Zeus Juice said:


> also, I'd love to write a story for mr. Sparta. Would you be ok with that?



Oh boy...

*DO IT!*


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## Zeus Juice (Jul 11, 2014)

Mr. Sparta said:


> Oh boy...
> 
> *DO IT!*



Okie doke. Any specifics you'd like for me to include? What should the setting and setup be? What would you want to turn into?  Would you like it to be fast or gradual? Little things like  that are important to the story.

I also  find it interesting that it's also important to understand what  being another species actually feels like. I should try to do  the same the next chance I get. It seems like a big facet of a transformation to consider.

in other news, though,  I've decided on my fursona's species! Alpine ibex. I'm planning on writing a story about me getting turned into an ibex pretty soon (it's why my fursona has taken so long. I couldn't decide on what fit me best, and [though it may be a bit of a weird fantasy and coping mechanism] I like to imagine myself turning into an anthro version of myself. It makes me feel special in a weird way. I feel like I'm being a bit too revealing and open here, so I'll stop >~<) Any ideas on how it should go?


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## Troj (Jul 11, 2014)

Yay ibex! Good choice.


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## Mr. Sparta (Jul 12, 2014)

Zeus Juice said:


> Okie doke. Any specifics you'd like for me to include? What should the setting and setup be? What would you want to turn into?  Would you like it to be fast or gradual? Little things like  that are important to the story.



Oh wow, you give me a lot of control here. Like ordering a TF sandwich at Subway.

Setting: Probably the PokÃ¨verse. Makes sense being a pokÃ¨fur, and human/pokemon TF isn't a new thing in that universe either.
End result: Lets just make this feraligatr, for lack of anything better.
Speed: Do what ever the hell you see fit.

TF hits some dark corners for me, but I am happy to take part. I won't judge. Do what you see fit.


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## Nekokami (Jul 12, 2014)

I love TFs into anthros, for some reason. I guess it's because they look better than normal animals.
TFs into Pokemon are nice, too.


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## Zeus Juice (Jul 12, 2014)

http://pastebin.com/icqTkGPQ

here ya go, Mr. Sparta. It took up 3 hours of my day, but I wrote this for you. I'm not sure if critique is allowed, but it would be appreciated. There are definitely some kinks in the story, and I want to isolate them so I can fix them up.


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## Mr. Sparta (Jul 12, 2014)

Zeus Juice said:


> http://pastebin.com/icqTkGPQ
> 
> here ya go, Mr. Sparta. It took up 3 hours of my day, but I wrote this for you. I'm not sure if critique is allowed, but it would be appreciated. There are definitely some kinks in the story, and I want to isolate them so I can fix them up.



Like I said, TF really disturbs me. But as far as the story goes, I got two words for you:

*Pretty Good!


*


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## Zeus Juice (Jul 12, 2014)

Really? I'm gladja liked it ^^


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## Imperial Impact (Jul 14, 2014)

A topic for sirrob?????????????????????????????


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## Digitalpotato (Jul 16, 2014)

Of course I certainly enjoy TF... just look at my galleries.


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## Stratelier (Jul 16, 2014)

I have a real big love-hate with the transformation genre myself.  I do enjoy a TF story from time to time, but Sturgeon's Law applies -- 90% of the time I walk away thinking "well, there's five minutes of my life I'm never getting back".  By which I mean that the TF wasn't part of the story, it _was_ the story, open and shut, and the _story_ was anything from "not all that great" to "a complete waste of time".

In fact, half the time when there's a TF scene in a story I don't even read the 'details' of the sequence, I just skim over it (faster than you can say TL/DR) and continue onwards with the rest of the surrounding story.  If you can cut out those TF-y details with no effect on the surrounding story, what purpose did they serve in the first place?  (Unless we're talking Nanowrimo, where it's wordcount ftw!  But, usually, we're not.)

As a plot element, though, I prefer the TF to have some deeper purpose than just "it happens because the author says so".  How does it tie into the setting, or the character it happens to?  For example, the _Pokemon Mystery Dungeon_ series is all about a person thrown into the Pokemon world and transformed into a Pokemon in the process.  There is no actual "TF sequence", it is not a power or ability they can invoke; it is just a rule of the setting and the story that follows, while it is not about the TF, it does utilize the fact that your hero was previously human.  Whether it's Rescue Team, Explorers, or Gates, none of them let you truly forget it.


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## JoeStrike (Jul 20, 2014)

Troj said:


> I've been fascinated by TF ever since I was, oh, maybe 5 or 6, and TF was my gateway into furry things even before I self-identified as furry.



Sounds exactly like my story. I think this cartoon started me on that road; they used to run it on TV all the time... like when "I was, oh, maybe 5 or 6..." - 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyR00v5CDHg


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## JoeStrike (Jul 20, 2014)

*My TF novel... for kids*

I just posted in the Writers' Critique forum, looking for feedback for my kids' novel, which just happens to star a teenager subject to unpredictable, uncontrollable TF's:

https://forums.furaffinity.net/thre...ck-on-my-kids-(8-to-12-amp-up)-FURRY-TF-NOVEL

I'm aiming for a general kids' audience (not excluding adults who might enjoy it) - not just furs, young furs or TF fans. If you check it out, don't expect a TF on page 3; I take my time getting around to his first transformation because I want readers to know - and _care_ - about my characters before they get to that point. (Don't worry, he TF's plenty once the story really gets rolling, with what I think are pretty logical, dramatically valid triggers each time.)

Like I say in the Critique posting, what I'm really looking for is feedback from my target audience: kids 8-12 & up, both boys and girls (the hero's sidekick is his feisty kid sister), but I'd appreciate any feedback people would like to offer, either here or in the Critique forum. Thanx much!


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## Olisia (Aug 23, 2014)

*Re: My TF novel... for kids*

Hey guys Im pretty new to FA but have always been a fan of the TF Genre. So I finally decided to put my ideas to paper by writing a short story on the origins of my fur and how she became how she is now. I was quite proud of my work and have decided to continue my writings and update around about 3000 words each week but as this is my first time writing anything Id love to have any constructive feed back or critiques on my work. (My opinion is obviously going to be quite biased). Thanks if you decide to check out my work ^^'

<3 Olisia

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/olisia/


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## Pinky (Aug 23, 2014)

TF is one of the main things that got me into furries. The backstories for my fursonas happen to include TFs, In fact I made one recently.


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## BadRoy (Dec 7, 2014)

I am in the same boat as a lot of you guys: I was TF lover first, then became a furry proper later on. They are probably my longest lasting interest. 

I've written a bunch of TF stories. They are probably my favorite scenes to write. Probably because there's such a HUGE variety of things that can cause a TF and things one can to turn into. My favorite par is usually the 'aftermath' with the person adjusting to the new bod. I think that is because is a little more psychological than the TF itself, though both are great. 



			
				Zeus Juice said:
			
		

> Naw. I've yet to see a sequence of a person turning into a plant. More often, people turn into animals.


You ought to nose around more. One of my first story requests was for an underwear TF. I don't love that idea but it turned out pretty well.


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