# Writing a book: and I need YOU



## Da_Thundershock (Nov 11, 2017)

*Hello people! This is my first post in the forums, but sadly to say, everything will be copied and pasted straight from my original post on the Furry Amino. I'm hoping to receive more exposure from the community on here. I am well aware of the existence of other furry books. I want this to be an informative text and provide insight into the fandom, targeted towards those who are not currently in it. I hope to allow non-furs to reach a better understanding of who we are, and what the fandom means to us. *

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As of tonight, I've decided that I wanted to work on a comprehensive project. Something I think is much needed for both furs and non-furs. I am going to create a nonfiction book about furries. Everything about furries. From the art and literature to the Furry Raiders, fursuiting and conventions, terminology, FAQ, debunking social myths, and more. As much as I would love to write a fictional novel depicting my characters, I personally feel as though I NEED to write THIS book. Truthfully, I haven't had the inspiration or motivation to write for a VERY long time. But after so many recent encounters with furry-hating assholes, I feel as though this book will have some greater purpose than just a way for me to let off steam. Obviously I will need to do tons of research! I have been a member of the fandom for approximately 8 years now, before I even knew I was IN the fandom. I may have all those years of experience but it was only with the art and literature aspect of the community. I hadn't shown much interest to fursuiting until the past year. I've done extensive research on suit creation and such, but I'm still not in the loop of, for example, famous figures in the fandom. Plus I have not yet been to a convention or owned a fursuit but I will DEFINITELY have those experiences before this book is published, because that is something I MUST include. 

_*A work in progress "Table of Contents" to flesh out my topic ideas. *_


Spoiler: Table of Contents



Foreword 

Preface

Introduction 

What is a “Furry”?

Furry Media in Pop Culture and Society 

Who Exactly are Furries?

The Fandom 

Terminology 

Creating a Fursona

The Art, Literature, and Culture

Fursuiting

Conventions 

Debunking the Myths

AltFurry Groups

Politics in the Fandom

Relation to the LGBTQ Community

A Safe Haven from Bullying

Our Contributions

Conclusion



Now, with that being said, I am going to need lots of help, from the community of course!

-ideas and suggestions of WHAT to write about

-personal experiences and testimonies: I need real stories from your life as a furry, and what it means to you.

I ALSO would like insight on the personal lives of furries. If you're not comfortable with sharing any of that, you don't have to. But for those who ARE, I welcome it. I want to know what its like to be in a relationship with another furry, I want to know what types of careers you have and the kind of person you aspire to be. I want coming out stories from people who have told their friends and family. I want stories from the LGBTQ community, as they are very prominent in the fandom. (I have MANY LGBTQ+ friends but none of which I know are furries :''> ) Maybe your first thoughts of furries before becoming one? Do you see it as a hobby or a lifestyle? Write a little bio about yourself- what type of music do you listen to? What type of activities do you enjoy doing? Let's show the world the DIVERSITY of the furry fandom. This is where everyone's unique creativity can truly shine.

Anything, really. My book will need the truth and only the truth.

From the brightest parts of the fandom to the darkest (I don't want to go in DEPTH about fetishes though, for the sake of a public audience, and that its my personal opinion that fetishes should be kept within the home).

I also hope to reach out to some YouTubers and fursuit creators, when possible, if possible.

You can say a sentence, or you can make an essay. Hell, you don't have to say anything at all. But if you do want to contribute to this, send stories, pictures, etc!

It is also my wish to include art and literature from the fandom as prime examples of what we DO. That probably won't be needed until latee on though. There's so much art, so I'll save that for last, after all the writing. I want to know what to add and WHEN to add it before and during writing. It will help me write as hearing about everyone's experiences will most likely influence my writing!

Thank you so much if you took the time to read this and thank you even more if you're considering helping me with this project either now or in the near future. I do hope to have this book published (self published maybe idk) within 2018, so long as I don't lose sight of my goal. But this is one passion I cannot afford to hide from the world any longer.

I hope this gets at least some recognition, because I'm serious about this. The world needs something like this. And while it might not stop the all haters, I'm hoping it may derail at least a few.

Thank you for your time!


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## SophiaSophisticated (Jan 3, 2018)

Well, my fursona is a badger, because I feel deeply connected with them.  When I hear anything about badgers (less so honey badgers, since they are not exactly "true" badgers and everyone knows about them and loves them anyway) I get excited.   My love and fascination with badgers ironically started when I purchased a badger pelt hat at a fair.  Before that I heard about honey badgers, but not the "true" badgers.  A while after that, I discovered Zootopia, and after a little bit of searching, saw the mostly cut out character, Honey, the Honey Badger, in videos about the original plot.  When I saw Honey, her body type reminded me of my own.  I did quite a bit of research, and it turned out that I have so much in common with badgers!  Badgers, specifically "true" badgers, regularly clean their setts (dens), and as a neat freak and hygiene maniac, I totally get it.  They are small, but tough, and at first glance, easy to underestimate.  That is, until they bear their sharp canines at you and growl.  They can maul the face off of the dog to defend themselves!  We are both tough as nails, despite sometimes being underestimated.  They also have their cutesy, cuddly side, when they snuggle together in their cozy setts.  Lastly, badgers are predatory, like most members of Carnivora, and will eat worms, mice, moles, rabbits, hedgehogs, reptiles, birds, and, legend has it, they will occasionally take lambs.   I love meat, and I also love hunting, both traits I share with Badgers.  When people insult badgers, it feels a bit like an insult to me too, even if unintentional.  I often imagine myself as a badger, doing badger things.  *swear to god I am not otherkin, no offense to otherkin* People think my favorite animal is the turtle, because I often talk about my pet turtle, but based off of everything I just said, you can tell what my real favorite animal is.  I hope this might be useful in delving into the furry psyche.


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## Sergei Sóhomo (Jan 3, 2018)

I'm a furry
My day goes on as though I'm not one
I eat like a person
I sleep like a person
I study like a person
I eat Tide Pods like a person
I aspire to be fully certified as a teacher like a person

I dunno what else you're really expecting. I like anthro things but it's not like I base my life around it


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## WolfoxeCrevan (Jan 3, 2018)

Sergei Sóhomo said:


> I eat Tide Pods like a person


Yes XD
Also, mr. snailworld. I hope you get your book finished and published XD


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## Vincent_Perri (Jan 7, 2018)

Hey this book sounds great! 'Fraid I don't have much to contribute, being so new to the fandom, but I love the idea, mate! ~Vince


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## EmpressCiela (Jan 10, 2018)

Hey there! I found this for your "Terminology" chapter. I'll see what else I can find to help with this, because this is something we need. There's other books about the truth of furries out there, but I get the feeling that this one will be one of the better ones!


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## Yakamaru (Jan 10, 2018)

If the topic is Furry Raiders you're better off contacting some of them directly. They are not hard to find, let alone talk to. And neither should AltFurries be, considering I am one. Not a Raider, although I support the work they do.

Though keep this in mind: This is a fandom, nothing more. We do not need to "prove" or show anyone about what "we" are about.

If you want to talk in a 101 just give me a poke.


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## Misk (Jan 21, 2018)

two types of furries

diet coke furries: usually just stuff like discord rp, watching the shows, looking at the fanart, playing the games. basically their everyday lives are completely normal(most common type, including myself)

syrup furries: fursuits, conventions, lifestyle changes according to fandom, whole lotta fur stuff (more rare)

in conclusion, most people just like anthropomorphic animated creatures cause they are cool/cute, nothing more

it's really not something book worthy if you ask me, you kinda act like it's some sort of supernatural phenomenon


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## silveredgreen (Jan 21, 2018)

We're not a community, first of all. Furry is a fandom, and just like every other fandom the only requirement is to be a fan of the subject of appeal. You're not even required to associate with it if you do like that subject, just like i refuse to associate with the Undertale fandom despite me liking the game.

Furry is also very sex focused. From my personal experience, the fandom tries too hard to paint itself as a low-nsfw fandom, where most people are in it more for the clean art than the porn. This is not the case, porn plays a heavy and highly noticable role in the fandom. As do fetishes. 

Now for some more personal opinions. I joined the fandom solely because i thought it would be cool. I'm asexual/aromantic so relationships aren't my thing, but i don't really consider myself LGBT. In truth, my opinion of the fandom has been pretty poor lately. I'm seeing a lot of people i view as 'socially inept morons', primarily on Discord. Cringy younger furs with little to no sense of maturity. I also see the occasional pedophile and zoophile that thinks they have a right to seek asylum within the fandom. If it weren't for the fact that i genuinely enjoy the art and want to own a fursuit in the future i would probably refuse to label myself a furry.


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## Misk (Jan 22, 2018)

silveredgreen said:


> We're not a community, first of all. Furry is a fandom, and just like every other fandom the only requirement is to be a fan of the subject of appeal. You're not even required to associate with it if you do like that subject, just like i refuse to associate with the Undertale fandom despite me liking the game.
> 
> Furry is also very sex focused. From my personal experience, the fandom tries too hard to paint itself as a low-nsfw fandom, where most people are in it more for the clean art than the porn. This is not the case, porn plays a heavy and highly noticable role in the fandom. As do fetishes.
> 
> Now for some more personal opinions. I joined the fandom solely because i thought it would be cool. I'm asexual/aromantic so relationships aren't my thing, but i don't really consider myself LGBT. In truth, my opinion of the fandom has been pretty poor lately. I'm seeing a lot of people i view as 'socially inept morons', primarily on Discord. Cringy younger furs with little to no sense of maturity. I also see the occasional pedophile and zoophile that thinks they have a right to seek asylum within the fandom. If it weren't for the fact that i genuinely enjoy the art and want to own a fursuit in the future i would probably refuse to label myself a furry.



so basically you're saying if you didn't want a fursuit and like the art you wouldn't be a furry? no shit


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## silveredgreen (Jan 23, 2018)

Misk said:


> so basically you're saying if you didn't want a fursuit and like the art you wouldn't be a furry? no shit



No need for the hostility, there are people who identify as furry solely because they enjoyed Disney movies as a child.


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## defunct (Jan 23, 2018)

I think you should be sure to stress that the extreme stuff is only a small portion of furries, I think everyone thinks of fursuiters when they hear they the term "furry" and I think that should be dispelled. A lot of furries are just dudes who like to do stuff like depict themselves as ferrets online and draw without being restricted to a single species per character


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## KiokuChan (Feb 19, 2018)

I think this would be a great read for you: www.flayrah.com: Retrospective: An Illustrated Chronology of Furry Fandom, 1966–1996


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## KiokuChan (Feb 19, 2018)

silveredgreen said:


> We're not a community, first of all. Furry is a fandom, and just like every other fandom the only requirement is to be a fan of the subject of appeal. You're not even required to associate with it if you do like that subject, just like i refuse to associate with the Undertale fandom despite me liking the game.
> 
> Furry is also very sex focused. From my personal experience, the fandom tries too hard to paint itself as a low-nsfw fandom, where most people are in it more for the clean art than the porn. This is not the case, porn plays a heavy and highly noticable role in the fandom. As do fetishes.
> 
> Now for some more personal opinions. I joined the fandom solely because i thought it would be cool. I'm asexual/aromantic so relationships aren't my thing, but i don't really consider myself LGBT. In truth, my opinion of the fandom has been pretty poor lately. I'm seeing a lot of people i view as 'socially inept morons', primarily on Discord. Cringy younger furs with little to no sense of maturity. I also see the occasional pedophile and zoophile that thinks they have a right to seek asylum within the fandom. If it weren't for the fact that i genuinely enjoy the art and want to own a fursuit in the future i would probably refuse to label myself a furry.


People stressing it not being about sex is a way of saying that you don't have to be interested in that at all to be in the fandom. Also even people who like that artwork seem to often like other facets of the fandom as well. I think sex positive/open is a better term than sex focused. Anyway I'm likely ace/aro myself and luckily I've never been given a hard time. I'm sorry if you ever were.


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