Advice for book writing.

[Benny The Miraj]

I think the problem that Gors is trying to point out is that if the characters are funny animals/furries then they would be harder to relate to as characters. The target audience is probably around 13+, an age where people start gaining more independent thought and how that will mold them in the future. Books designed for young adults typically have teenage or coming of age characters because that's the most relatable "vessel" to immerse the reader into the book. The main point is, unless your target audience is in fact sentient unicorn rabbits, then other readers will either have a harder time or being barred completely from being immersed in the book and therefore enjoying it.

I hear this a lot that "people want stories they can fit themselves in," but in all honesty... I know a lot of people who either don't care and just want to be enthralled in a story, can relate even to creatures that aren't themselves, or even (such as myself) want characters that are as different from them as possible, as it is more fascinating and interesting than a story about the species that is writing the book. Harder to relate to =/= Impossible.

I have a large list of reasons as to why I will not write about humans, and as I said, they are personal reasons I'm not comfortable with talking about, but they don't involve "being a furfag who only wants to write about animals," it's much deeper then that. Any further suggestion that I change the characters into humans will be ignored. Any other suggestion, however, is very much welcome. Please respect my wish to NOT write about my own species.


Thinking about symbolism a bit more, a rat actually would fit Benny. He's a dirty creature who lives in a dumpster, and has an innocent look to him. Wild rats are known to live in very dirty environments and, in my opinion, domestic rats have a pretty innocent look to them most of the time. It also fits his cousin, who is rich and fancy, as it could be a play on the term "fancy rat." It could also be a plot point for when he comes across the human, who is deathly afraid of rats.

Come to think of it, an Almiraj would actually be a really good fit for the VILLAIN of the story. Almiraj are small, unassuming, but dangerous, which fits the villain, who is a dwarf version of his species, yet still manages to be a powerful creature despite his small size, very well.

Benny's best friend is a hard case. Benny's friend is meant to be a very misunderstood creature. Now, there are several youkai that could fit here, as many youkai, such as the baku, have two versions: a mischievous version and a helpful version. A baku can either steal the good dreams from a sleeping victim or ward away bad dreams from its owner. ...However, I'm not sure if the "mischievous version/helpful version" thing is true for Oni, which is what Benny's friend is originally based off of. I might need to give this one more thought.