Did anyone know that a box is a literary metaphor for self-doubt? I did. At least, according to this review, I did. Which is why I used it, of course. Not because...well...boxes hold stuff. Not because I needed something to be stored and tupperware lacks a certain panache. Not because it made sense for my story. No. I used a box in my short story because I knew---on some deep, deep, *deep* subconscious level---that a box is a literary metaphor for self-doubt. Right.

This whole reading reviews of my story thing is endlessly fascinating. It's as though I'm in AP English again, analyzing William Carlos Williams' poor wet wheelbarrow for hints of Some Deep Meaning. I feel a little weirded-out, and yet oddly honored, that my writing is worthy of literary analysis.

But I don't think I'll ever be able to stick a box in a story again without pondering its metaphorical implications. Bugger.

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