As a female student majoring in writing with a deep side interest in film and the art of the screenplay, it was inevitable that I would eventually run into the work and insights of Greta Gerwig. Both charismatic and witty, Gerwig is a great role model for all young women whose dreams are to succeed in the world of writing or film. Born in Sacramento, California, Gerwig began her career with interests in writing and theater. Originally intending to become a playwright, Gerwig attended Barnard College and received degrees in English and Philosophy. After her years in undergrad, Gerwig was rejected from every playwriting MFA program she applied to. Despite this, Gerwig was able to move forward with her career and passion for writing when she fell into a crowd of filmmakers and writers late in her college years. After graduating from college, Gerwig focused on acting in small independent films for the majority of her twenties. However, Gerwig felt that the world of acting began to constrict her dream of directing films of screenplays that she had written. While acting, she co-wrote and co-directed a film with director Noah Baumbach which was titled Frances Ha.
Using the skills she learned from years of being on set, Gerwig made her directorial debut in 2017 with the coming-of-age drama, Lady Bird. With the highest rating ever recorded on Rotten Tomatoes, Lady Bird scored big. Gerwig had broken barriers and soon became one of the few major female writers and directors in the industry.
My first experience with any of Gerwig’s work was watching Lady Bird shortly after it was released. Although I enjoyed the film, I did not feel compelled to do more research about Gerwig as a writer. However, after taking a playwriting/screenwriting course during my first year of college, film and writing for the screen started to become a big interest of mine. It was as if something within me switched. Suddenly, I felt that I had found the style of writing which suited me best. I struggled through poetry and creative non-fiction workshops, but playwriting and screenwriting were a breeze for me. Writing dramatic and authentic dialogue felt much easier to me than laboring over a single word to finish off the couplet of a poem. I also felt that screenwriting and playwriting offered me more creative authority. Not only did I get to structure characters and a plot, but also lighting, camera shots, staging, props and more.
As my interest grew, I began watching films and reading screenplays, only to discover that the writing and aesthetics of independent and alternative films appealed to me most. Only naturally, I ran back into the work of Gerwig (as almost every film she has ever worked on is an independent or alternative). I started by watching 20th Century Women, Mistress America and Maggie’s Plan. Then, I watched Frances Ha, which is now undoubtedly my favorite film. Watching Frances Ha was the first time I had witnessed characters and a writing style so similar to my own.
Courtesy: HomeTV
After falling in love with Frances Ha, I began researching Gerwig and her career in more detail. Watching her interviews deeply moved me in a way that I had never been moved before. I began to learn that Gerwig’s life was very similar to my own. However, what I found most captivating about her was what she had to say about writing. The way that Gerwig speaks about her writing is both charming and brutally honest. What she has to say is everything a budding writer needs to hear.
In my opinion, it is notable that Gerwig makes it a habit to continually speak about the fact that writing is the most difficult task a person could take on. Most people, including myself, have been conditioned to think that writers just sit down at their desks with a cup of coffee and strike the keyboard until a masterful work of art is displayed on the computer’s monitor. However, Gerwig challenges this idea and thinks that it could not be more incorrect. After hearing Gerwig mention this countless times, I too have to agree with her. I often find myself so stressed about deducing every plot detail and all the mechanics before I begin writing that the task of writing itself becomes too daunting. Gerwig has said that she used to feel the same way but eventually tried accepting that she shouldn’t “really decide the core of the story before [it is written].” Instead, she preaches that it is more effective to “write to figure out what the story is.”
Courtesy: Charlie Gray
Gerwig also speaks openly about how she finds inspiration and what has made her writing successful with audiences around the world. As for what inspires her to write, she has said that she often takes inspiration from her own life or tries to “take tropes from other movies and [puts] them where [they] don’t belong.” This type of writing allows her to take something personal or concrete and spin it into something entirely different. Gerwig says that when “you write something you know, you’re making a story that will work.” This was the most important thing I have heard about writing in my life thus far. To write personally is to write successfully but writing personally is terrifying. Gerwig talks about this by explaining that writing should be a fulfilling type of torture. Putting words on the page that are deeply personal makes a piece have a “core of emotional truth that is very resonant.”
Furthermore, her idea of taking old tropes and twisting them in a way nobody has before is also inspiring. When I sit down to write creatively, my mind immediately tries to deduce how I can invent the wheel from scratch, but the truth is, the wheel has already been invented and no matter how hard I try, I cannot start completely from scratch. All art and writing are somehow inspired by something else and hearing that is reassuring. The last feeling I want to have while writing is the feeling that I am unoriginal or stealing from the ideas and styles of others.
Overall, Gerwig has helped to inspire me and comfort me about my writing. Most importantly, she has made an example of herself by showing that young women who seem overly ambitious, intelligent and quirky can indeed succeed in the film and writing industries. When I find myself discouraged, lost or frustrated with my writing, I turn to Gerwig and think about all of the wisdom she has put into her work that can help me. Gerwig serves as a constant reminder to me that writing is a treacherous, yet beautiful thing, and the most important part of our lives is sharing our stories. As I move forward with my writing, I will try to be brave like Gerwig and trust that my stories are valid and worthy of being told. From her thoughts and advice, I realize that although I may not have my writing figured out completely, it will eventually come into its own.
Courtesy: Mark Mahaney
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