Dear Greta Gerwig,
I have a confession to make. I avoided watching your version of Little Women because I knew that I was going to fall in love with it. Weird, I know. But somehow, I knew that by watching your film something would change, that it would move me to tears and make me want to DO something. I wasn’t ready for that last year. I couldn’t even face my manuscript, so how could I watch Jo March complete hers?
Well, a few days ago I finally curled up on my couch to watch your adaption of Little Women. And lemme tell you Greta, I ugly cried. Like WEPT. I’m not quite sure why, but this version of the story sparked something in me.
Maybe it was the way you handled Jo March so delicately even though she’s so strong. You gave her even more depth than I could ever imagine and made her so completely whole. Or maybe it was the way that I wanted to murder Amy after she burned Jo’s novel. I knew it was coming and yet I gasped as if I had no idea of what to expect. Thank you for displaying such wonderful, childlike freedom through your adaption.
Yesterday, I had a plot breakthrough and I nearly cried. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of my heavy shoulders. I’m pretty sure I have your interpretation of Jo to thank for that.
Thank you.
I know there will be many more moments of being stuck and unstuck throughout my writing process, but I have to be okay with that. I cannot let perfectionism keep me from putting words to a page. I promise myself today that I will not let the fear of being mediocre keep me from trying something new.
Sincerely,
Patience