Reading provides so much more stimulus that an image, in my opinion. Writing is in fact an art, and takes years of development to create and perfect. You dont see blockbuster movies based on an image.

I agree wholeheartedly. Sadly I find in the fandom writing doesn't get the same amount of love and respect it once did.

People hardly take the time to skim the words accompanying a favorite image. Its simply too much work to slow down and read, much less sit and brainstorm with each other.

I can completely see where you are coming from. And I understand the feeling as well. You know I write too. I find it disappointing when people don't comment or the like. But like Tolf and I have sorta found out people read and or download and move on which is a shame. I try to comment all things but its hard. And you are write I dont know how many times I stress over what I'm writing!

People forget that for those of us who write because we want to write, things like comments or favs tell us you liked what we created and encourages us to do more.

Its actually funny, I love stories and written descriptions. Like, a picture can be good, but find it is much better with a written component. Like your most recent leather wolves picture.

Thanks! All I can say is, if you like what a writer wrote, leave a comment. Doesn't have to be much. I cannot express how much even simple comments mean to people. It tells me (and others) you like what we made and encourages us to keep creating content.

Haha, this is a fantastic read.

No, not everybody can write. People can slap down words into a piece of paper. Sometimes, the may even make sense! It takes talent to create a world and then an experience.

Yea, I have seen some pretty horrific writing. Good quality writing is like good art, it takes a lot of work and practice.

I see where you are coming from. I am a writer myself. Given I am nowhere near as good as other people on here but still I like to see my written works get love just like the submissions I post.

I believe it is laziness. It takes less energy to read a story then it does to look at a picture.
Myself, I LOVE to read. Given there are topics that I will not read but it is safe to ignore the ones I do not like... but all the same... Writers need more attention on here.

Glad to hear some other writers feel the same way I do. When I first started in the fandom, furry writers were way more common then they are now and there was a definite sense of appreciation from the fandom as a whole. Now I struggle to get even a single comment on stuff I write, and even then its usually close friends who take the time to comment.

That is sad... I mean, I love to write for the sake of writing but I like to feel my stuff is appreciated much like the artists out there...

In a sense of the word... Writing IS art too. Not just pictures.

well said! As someone whos building writing and drawing skills i can say that writing is just as hard as drawing, maybe more so! both are amazing mediums and should be treated as equals!

Yea I would never put an artist down like that. I think it takes a lot of skill and talent to draw well. But it also takes skill and talent to write well. Keep building those skills!

I believe this is mostly due to the very nature of the internet; everyone wants everything ASAP. That's pretty much the whole reason behind the "tl;dr" thing that people use from time to time, it saves people from reading tons of words in forums about something.

It is definitely saddening though. As a writer myself (who suffers from major writer's block ;.=.;), it does suck that stories get less attention than pictures all the time. But it is sadly just a matter of fact; as Lazarus said, you can simply just open up a picture and fap to it.

Honestly though? I think reading is probably the best kind of art. You just simply have to worry about weaving words together and describing things (or leaving descriptions out, if you want them to imagine their own way), and it probably has more of an effect on you than a picture ever did. Isn't there a saying that's something like "A picture's worth a thousand words"? I would like to think of that as both artist and writer put as much effort into each others' work, though the Writer has more work for an art form to be GREAT.

Yea when did tl;dr becomes the dominant culture on the internet? It is sad we have turned into a culture of immediate gratification and short attention spans.

I actually hate that phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" because in reality a good story is made of a thousand pictures. Pictures are very static I find, they are a moment of time frozen for all to see. A story shows you things that pictures cannot: motive, deep imagery, allusion and action. I really feel as a fandom we need to give our authors more credit and attention then we do. I work hard to write the stories I do and when I feel they go unappreciated, it becomes harder to write the next one. I doubt I will ever stop writing but I have noticed my drive to write as slowly began to slip.

I want to encourage everyone to comment and interact with your favorite furry authors more. Make sure they know how much you appreciate their time and effort to craft a story for you to escape your reality for a few minutes at a time.

As someone taking writer's craft right now, I'm not surprised that literature is losing its light in the fandom. People want the now, the instant, like so many other things. Reading a story, imagining every little detail, the sun shining down, the light glinting off the brass casings littering the ground, the smell of cordite and gunpowder in the air. All that, it takes time. A lot of it. And people don't have the patience.

Well, I do. Usually. If a story catches my fancy I'll read it through to the end (Just finished a real doozy titled Fallout Equestria, something like 700K words). don't know if i'm unique like that in today's society, but.... Eh. Literature is an artform. It takes skill to capture and hold an audience for something as long as 800+ pages.

Long post there. I will try to address it best I can.

Yes I realize that most people are trying to satisfy an urge and just want something quick to paw off to, but that isn't to say a good story can't do the same thing. The core problem here is the idea of instant rewards and gratification. Why put in any effort when you don't have to. But I think you nailed the core problem inadvertently on the metaphorical head there. This idea that a long story or reading in general is a ton of work is just not true. Many people read books and novels to relax and unwind. A good story can truly take you somewhere else. It creates images in your mind and lets you escape reality and live somewhere else. I reject the very notion that "reading is hard" because it isn't. It just takes a willingness to spend some time and loose yourself.

Would you tell someone who can draw "just dumb it down, maybe don't shade it or include a background" or something similar? The problem with your suggestions is that it encourages lazy behaviors and degrades writing as an art form. Well written prose should be smooth. It should flow and be a pleasure to read. It shouldn't require silly gimmicks to draw people in. The story should draw you in just by reading it.

In regards to other types of artists, I never said they had it easy. Yes an artist has a lot to consider when laying out a piece. But a good piece of art takes maybe a couple hours to draw, colour, shade and finish. A good story can take weeks to perfect. A single sentence can be rewritten a dozen or more times before it is good enough to show another living soul. I heard another writer say this once, "writing is 95% rewriting." No truer words have ever been uttered. Some of my larger stories have taken 50 or more passes to get them to flow. I go through and as I read I have to ask myself: does this sentence flow properly? Is it easy to read? Does it make sense? Does it describe the scene properly and in enough detail? Is it clear who is talking? Does the wording have enough variety? Am I keeping to a single tense? Am I using active and passive verbs correctly? Are the characters and dialog believable? Did I overlook something? Did I forget something? How is the pacing? An artist can draw a facial expression exactly as they picture it in their minds. A writer has to describe the scene in enough detail that you can picture it in your mind.

In terms of work, yes I agree animation is crazy for the amount of effort that goes into it. I think that is why you don't see much in the way of animation on FA (with the exception of 3d modeled animation which is a lot less word to animate).

Did you capitalize deserve because you think writers do not deserve accolades of their own? Or because you think I insinuated that they praise they receive is undeserving? This post was never about "artists get too much praise" or "writing is better then art". This is about writing being overlooked or under valued within the furry fandom of late (this is a change from what it was a few years ago). In a fandom that is filled with such talent or amazing skill, there should be room for artists and writers to happily co-exist and thrive.

Mostly I write for myself. I write because I love writing and I love to craft stories. That being said, I am human. Every story I post is the culmination of many hours worth of work. It has energy, time and a bit of myself that I am putting out there in the world. If I was earning money on my stories then it wouldn't matter as much if people read them. But for someone who is taking the time and effort to write something, comments and favorites are our currency. The feeling of satisfaction we get when someone says how much they like something is a huge reward. It encourages us to keep doing what we are doing, to keep creating. My complaints are not for my work specifically, it is for the lack of attention writing seems to get in recent years in general. I know many furry writers who just don't write anymore because they feel their work goes unnoticed or unappreciated. This is a tragedy in and of itself. The whole fandom suffers when we loose talented people like that.

Additionally, it is hard to accommodate audience taste when people don't bother to take the time to comment. You want stories tailored more to your taste? Then tell us what you like and disliked. Make sure we know you are reading and that our effort isn't lost in a void.