Ah, no! A Theft of Teapots does not suck! I enjoyed it and felt very cozy! :) I'll try to (loosely) follow the response format used in pcg_makingitworse:
In terms of strengths, I felt as if the characters and the plot all fit perfectly with the theme of "cozy mystery." Also, I liked reading about the various tea society members. The large cast reminds me of mysteries like And Then There Were None, where the reader gets to enjoy a variety of interesting characters all mixed up in the shady happenings. Ha ha Dave Nickels -- silly coffee drinker!
As far as weaknesses, I felt the mystery was easily solved, which is maybe what you were aiming for? Also, it's sometimes difficult to get attached to characters in short stories. I felt some of the characterization was a little rushed, but I understand the reason. Overall, I think you did a good job of making your characters charismatic enough that the reader really does care about the outcome. Ahh, and I want to know Kort's and Hoffman's reactions after the video went public!
I enjoyed the lighthearted nature of the plot and thought it flowed well. I did wonder about the mystery teapot in the online auction. Was that a way to illustrate Connie's penchant for exaggeration or is it a possible spinoff for a future story? Woo long instead of oolong, ha!
Opening with Marin visiting Kiyomi while sick indicates that they have a solid friendship, which helped establish the tone of the story. Then, you jumped straight into the info about the break-ins, which I thought was perfect pacing. Also, I am a big fan of morally ambiguous plots/endings (giving Nathan credit, even though he's facing criminal charges). So, another plus from me on that!
The characters and setting work, and the dialog really drives the plot, which I thought was appropriate given the length of the story. I'm not a huge fan of using words other than "said" or "asked" with dialog, but that's probably just a persnickety preference! :)
Lastly, I LOVE Sweetpea! Of course Sweetpea is the true detective! If you continue with these characters, I hope Sweetpea persists as the sharp-nosed sleuth!
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2012-08-11 09:09 pm (UTC)In terms of strengths, I felt as if the characters and the plot all fit perfectly with the theme of "cozy mystery." Also, I liked reading about the various tea society members. The large cast reminds me of mysteries like And Then There Were None, where the reader gets to enjoy a variety of interesting characters all mixed up in the shady happenings. Ha ha Dave Nickels -- silly coffee drinker!
As far as weaknesses, I felt the mystery was easily solved, which is maybe what you were aiming for? Also, it's sometimes difficult to get attached to characters in short stories. I felt some of the characterization was a little rushed, but I understand the reason. Overall, I think you did a good job of making your characters charismatic enough that the reader really does care about the outcome. Ahh, and I want to know Kort's and Hoffman's reactions after the video went public!
I enjoyed the lighthearted nature of the plot and thought it flowed well. I did wonder about the mystery teapot in the online auction. Was that a way to illustrate Connie's penchant for exaggeration or is it a possible spinoff for a future story? Woo long instead of oolong, ha!
Opening with Marin visiting Kiyomi while sick indicates that they have a solid friendship, which helped establish the tone of the story. Then, you jumped straight into the info about the break-ins, which I thought was perfect pacing. Also, I am a big fan of morally ambiguous plots/endings (giving Nathan credit, even though he's facing criminal charges). So, another plus from me on that!
The characters and setting work, and the dialog really drives the plot, which I thought was appropriate given the length of the story. I'm not a huge fan of using words other than "said" or "asked" with dialog, but that's probably just a persnickety preference! :)
Lastly, I LOVE Sweetpea! Of course Sweetpea is the true detective! If you continue with these characters, I hope Sweetpea persists as the sharp-nosed sleuth!
Thank you for letting me read your story!