Response to Kody Blackwell's "Over the Counter"

            “Over the Counter” tells the story of an ambitious single father, Mark Nichols, seeking good fortune upon his children.  At the beginning of the story, he discovers a hefty debt notice in the mail and seeks an alternative means of making money.  His pharmacy job can’t quite suffice, so he takes advice from his friend and subsequently steals prescription medicine with the intent to sell.

            There were a lot of things that I thought fit really well into the story.  I loved the characters.  A father struggling to stay afloat while supporting his children is a compelling story.  However, I feel that we don’t learn enough about these central characters.  I wanted more insight into these lives.  Simply by adding more dramatizing scenes and dialogue this could solve the problem.  I also liked the story arc for the character Mark.  I’m intrigued with his disposition.  The conflict to do what is “right” works perfectly with the character’s complacency.  I thought that this tension could have been played up a lot more.  While this element is a little conventional, the conflict still remains strong and can be very striking if its fleshed out more. 

            The story also lacked a tangible sensation.  A lot of the imagery seemed blurred or simply not included.  I think that visually there is much more room to expand.  Instead of moving from scene to scene I feel as if the author could do just a bit more embellishing.  Overall, I did enjoy the story.  The situations seemed very real and relatable.  Not to mention, I know that I can fall in love with these characters if I just learn a little more about them.  The story simply lacks a personal element; an extra flare of emotions and dramatic scenes could do the narrative a lot of good.