In the movie Winter’s Bone, Jennifer Laurance’s character Ree is desperate to care for her younger brother and sister. The neighbors offer to take the boy, but not the little girl. When a friend asks why, Ree says, “She don’t shine for them.”
When writing Members of the Cast, I left out parts of a scene I loved. Perhaps I overthink the effect my writing will have on the world, but as a writer for young adults, I want to be a good example.
The first time Margo goes to the auditorium with Alan, he talks her into doing a silent movie skit. In the original text, Alan has rigged stage lights to flicker, giving the jerky effect of early film. The idea continues in a routine Margo does for her theater class.
The trick can be easily re-enacted even by young kids, but epileptic seizures can be triggered by flashing lights. Photosensitive epilepsy is not common, but because I know of a case, having pulsing lights key to a chapter made me uncomfortable.
Alas, I loved that scene. As it is, it doesn’t have the “spark” of the original. I guess It “don’t shine” for me.
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