As a writer, Nora Ephron’s classic quote has served me well. I heard her give a talk on this bit of insight not long before her death in 2012. Interesting, I thought, but exactly what does that mean? She went on to explain that it was one of those “momisms” she always heard growing up. You see her mother wanted her to understand that the tragedies of her life one day had the potential to be comic stories the next. Write it down. It’s all material. Even if you’re going through something horrific, at least you can write about it one day.

It made so much sense and the more I thought about it, I realized how much copy I already had. Now as I write, I find myself weaving scenes and snippets of dialogue from my past “adventures” into my story lines. It’s very cathartic, especially when I get to add all the snappy repartee and pithy comebacks my stunned brain couldn’t think of at the moment it was actually happening.

Its great fodder for my novels, but it’s also a good way to cope with life. Whenever I find myself in an awkward, irritating, or frustrating situation, I’ve trained myself to take a deep breath and chuckle, “oh well, it’s just more copy.” Somehow, it keeps things in perspective. So thank you Nora Ephron for this bit of wisdom that has so enriched my life, as well as provided copy for my books.