The Box, Comparing it to Can You Be

Beach at Sullivan’s Island

Read below or watch/listen to the video at the bottom of the page:

Over the last few weeks, I shared “The Box,” which was a short story I wrote in 2020 that inspired my second novel, Can You Be, released in 2023.

The fourteen parts I’ve shared since May were slightly over 10,000 words. The novel was over 86,000 words. Logically, there would be differences beyond simply expanding the story.

There are clear similarities between “The Box” and Can You Be, and the biggest one is that they are both stories about a woman, Naina, who is about to turn thirty and is living a self-imposed quiet life. She learns there is more to life and she benefits greatly from change. This change is instigated by the mysterious delivery of a box that contains a crystal, an angelite. Holy Man enters the story at the same time and he serves as a type of spiritual guide for Naina.

Other commonalities are:

- The story is set in Charleston, South Carolina

- Naina’s background story is the same. Her mother died when she was young and after her father remarried, he sent her to live in boarding schools

- Soon after receiving the box, Naina becomes friends with her neighbor named Raiya

- Holy Man’s identity is unclear, and Naina coins him with the name, Holy Man

- Naina works at a real estate office and her boss is Alice

To expand the short story from “The Box” to the novel, Can You Be, I had to make major adjustments. I had to expand the storyline, but I also empowered Naina to make her more self-sufficient. In the story, Naina lets circumstances dictate how she behaves and the choices she makes. In the novel, Naina embraces change and finds the courage to expand her horizons and explore who she can be. Naina travels to Stockholm, the Baltic countries, and Helsinki. This is a pivotal trip for Naina. Other differences:

- Raiya is a likable character in “The Box,” and arguably rescues Naina, but in Can You Be he becomes an antagonist

- I removed Mark from the real estate office team. Alice is still the boss but instead of working at the office, she owns it.

- I added other characters, including Fiona, another of Naina’s neighbors; Naina’s friends from college; an ex-boyfriend; tourists who travel to the Baltics with Naina; and Priidik, a love interest

- We learn more about the background story regarding Naina and her father

I hope you enjoyed both “The Box” and Can You Be and appreciate the contrast between the two.

I shared some more comparisons in this video: