I don't think that argument holds up. Humans are going to be your default option if writing about anything. Why? Because the author is human, everyone he knows is human, every sentient thinking being who will read his story is human. If there were talking dolphins or monkeys that we shared the planet with, you might need to justify using people specifically, but that's not the case. Humans are the author, subject and audience. That's the only justification you need.
If you're going to use furries as your characters, I do think that there should be more than merely as a cosmetic aspect to it. Different species are imbued with different personality traits and mythological significance, they have different diets, different physical strengths. Not finding a way to use that to enrich the story is a missed opportunity.
Good writing uses all the tools at your disposal. Everything you put into a story is there for a reason, is there to drive the characters, the plot, or the point you're trying to make. If you can't think of anything interesting to do with furries (especially if neither the author or the audience is actually an anthropomorphic animal), then why use them?
If you think about it, and come to the conclusion of "just because", that's fine for you and your fans. But a lot of folks who want tightly-written fiction won't accept that as a reason. And I don't think it's unreasonable to want a stronger reason for furry inclusion...especially because it's not that hard to incorporate non-cosmetic/aesthetic aspects of anthro-animals in fiction.
I don't think that argument holds up. Humans are going to be your default option if writing about anything. Why? Because the author is human, everyone he knows is human, every sentient thinking being who will read his story is human. If there were talking dolphins or monkeys that we shared the planet with, you might need to justify using people specifically, but that's not the case. Humans are the author, subject and audience. That's the only justification you need.
If you're going to use furries as your characters, I do think that there should be more than merely as a cosmetic aspect to it. Different species are imbued with different personality traits and mythological significance, they have different diets, different physical strengths. Not finding a way to use that to enrich the story is a missed opportunity.
Good writing uses all the tools at your disposal. Everything you put into a story is there for a reason, is there to drive the characters, the plot, or the point you're trying to make. If you can't think of anything interesting to do with furries (especially if neither the author or the audience is actually an anthropomorphic animal), then why use them?
If you think about it, and come to the conclusion of "just because", that's fine for you and your fans. But a lot of folks who want tightly-written fiction won't accept that as a reason. And I don't think it's unreasonable to want a stronger reason for furry inclusion...especially because it's not that hard to incorporate non-cosmetic/aesthetic aspects of anthro-animals in fiction.