Welcome to the Fur & Feathers Community!

This account is a corner of Wattpad where the animals are given voices. Here, we celebrate creatures big and small - from birds to beetles, dogs to dragons, mice, cats and everything in between. If it has fur, feathers, scales or a tail, it's welcome here.

Since our style is fairly niche, a fun way for us to develop is to help out each other, and grow together as fellow animal writers. We understand each other here. So, we have created this place, as a centre for our interactions.

The workings of this are a little like that of a book club. But there are no set assignments. We don't have weekly or biweekly updates. Here, you can pick and choose your books, your timings, and how often you can participate.

So, if you're looking for a book club where you can decide more things, then continue on for more details!

- - - RULES - - -

1. Please follow this account, , and make sure to keep an eye on any announcements.

2. Add this book to your library, so you can see any updates that are made quickly and easily.

3. Remember to be kind at all times. Critiques are ok, but not nastiness or hate comments.

4. That said, you must even be careful with critiques. Make sure to tailor your feedback to what the other person has asked for (or what you asked for) - for example, don't be overly critical if they've asked for more gentle comments. More info in the 'How It Works' section.

5. If you ever have any problem with a partner, do not try to deal with it yourself. Private message this account and tell me exactly what is wrong, and I will deal with it appropriately.

6. Make sure to fill in the form detailed in the next chapter appropriately. To verify you've read this chapter, the password is a word beginning with the first letter of your username. A second password will be mentioned in a later part of the chapter.

7. If you have requested from (or been requested by) another member, please do uphold your agreement with them. If abandoning the exchange is absolutely necessary, let them know immediately.

8. Equally, if your partner has not completed your exchange within the set time limit I've given you, don't be afraid to contact me about it, so I can contact them. If they don't reply, I will give them a warning - as detailed next.

9. If you are repeatedly unkind, unresponsive or late in completing your exchange, there will be consequences. After one event I will give you a warning. If it happens again, I will suspend you from requesting for two weeks. And if it happens a third time, you will be banished from the centre permanently. I'm sorry, but it's just the way it must be dealt with.

10. If you ever need to go on hiatus (see 'How it Works' below) then please PM me to let me know, and tell me for how long. You don't need to tell me why - I understand.

11. But, most importantly, have fun!

- - - WHAT IS ACCEPTED - - -

1. We only accept English stories. Sorry. It's just easier to function that way.

2. Your book must have at least three chapters (including your prologue, if it's a similar length to your chapters) to be accepted as a member. However, if you plan on doing longer exchanges, then more chapters is advised.

3. Of course, since this account is all about animal stories, then I ask that you only submit books that contain animals playing a major role. Anything with animal (including dragon) main characters is a safe bet, but we also accept stories in which animals are major secondary characters.

Some Shifter stories (e.g. werewolf) are also allowed, but it depends how much of an emphasis you have on their animalistic traits. If you're at all unsure whether your book qualifies, comment here or PM me and I'll double check for you.

4. Other than that, we accept any genre apart from Random, because that just doesn't make sense. Poetry is also allowed, as long as it's animal-related poetry.

5. Open fan fictions are allowed - as in, books that are based on a fandom but are accessible to anyone who doesn't know that fandom. If your fanfic requires more knowledge, I'm afraid it's not allowed.

- - - HOW IT WORKS - - -

This centre does not have set assignments given by me. Instead, to begin an exchange, you request one from another listed member.

You can only request if you have filled in the form in the next chapter, and been accepted by me.

The requesting system is as follows:

1. Choose the book you most like the look of from the listed members (see 'Member List' chapter). Check their status (Hiatus, Exchanging or Available). If they are on hiatus, please do not request them. If they are exchanging already, then you can request from them, but only if there is at least one space in their queue - but be aware that you may be waiting a while. And if they're available, then request right away

2. Also, check their list of genres/themes they don't want to read, to make sure they'll be willing to read your book.

3. Comment inline to 'Request here:' beneath their book description in the following way:

Book Title: (the title of your book)

Chapters: (the number of chapters you wish to read)

Critique Rating: (state which rating you choose - Fun, Balanced or Critical - as detailed below in the 'Critique Ratings' section)

Their Username: (just tag them at the bottom of the comment, so they can see you've requested)

Make sure you fill in each field appropriately, or your request will not be valid. Also, please add a number to any part of your request form, as a password.

4. Wait until you receive confirmation from both this account and the person themselves. If the person does not reply within three days, then they will receive a warning (see Rules above). After a week, if they have still not responded to me or to your request, then they will be placed on hiatus until they do.

5. But if they do respond (and they should), then begin your exchange, and have fun! Though, since this is still a club of sorts, I will be managing your exchange, as detailed below.

After you request, your exchange will carry out as follows:

1. According to the time it will take you to read a chapter, and the lengths of your chapters, I will tell you both how many chapters you must read each week/fortnight in response to your comment request. I won't constrict you - your target will be realistic and achievable based on the information you've given me.

2. Now, it's over to you and your partner. Comment in response to the request each time you completed your chapter/s for each time frame (since it's an easy way to notify both me and your partner) and enjoy chatting about each others' stories via PM. I will check in to see how you're getting along, but it's mostly up to you in this stage.

3. Another reminder that if there are any problems with your partner's comments or reliability, let me know immediately.

4. Once you have completed your exchange, comment inline to 'Completed Exchanges:' underneath the book you requested / were requested for to say the username, book title and chapters you read. For example:

Exchanged with SpruceWolf, Shadewylf, 5 chapters.

And that's it! Your exchange is over! You're free to request another person, or even the same person again if you wish.

Extra note: If you are able to, you can request more than one person at once. However, please make sure you are able to complete them adequately at the same time.

- - - CRITIQUE RATINGS - - -

These vary depending on how you want your exchange to work.

Fun - for people who simply want to see a reader's reactions to their story. Just read each other's stories for fun, spam then with inline comments (I'd say about 7 minimum per chapter, but more would be great) and just enjoy discussing your thoughts and predictions.

Balanced - for people who want gentle, polite feedback. Tell them what they did well, and also suggest a few things, but don't be overly critical. You can still comment fun things, too. As a general rule, leave a 5 line review comment (7 line on mobile) at the end of each chapter, plus a few inlines for specific points.

Critical - for people who really want to know everything wrong with their story. Please still leave positive comments, but also feel free to critique a lot more and really go in depth with how the story could be improved. Your review comment at the end should be at least 9 lines (12 on mobile) and contain detailed feedback about the chapter, along with inlines. However, don't just state negative things - suggest how those things could be fixed.

Thank you for reading through all of that. Trust me, it's not complicated. I hope this all explained the system well enough for you. If you have any questions, do ask!

Also, since this place is very new, if there are any improvements to its workings you think could be made, then do let me know.

Now, let's proceed to the centre's entry form.