People are always saying that change is a good thing. But all they’re really saying is that something you didn’t want to happen at all… has happened. – from “You’ve Got Mail”
I don’t usually write about celebrities – except when they’re in tax trouble. But tonight, I’m making a quick exception.
ABCNews has confirmed that Nora Ephron has died. She was only 71.
If you don’t know who Nora Ephron is (first of all, I question why this would be), she is best known as a writer. She wrote and directed a number of films (one of the first women to do so). And she wrote sparkly, wonderfully witty films such as “When Harry Met Sally” (one of my very favorite movies), “Sleepless in Seattle” and “You’ve Got Mail.”
Yes, the films that I’ve named are all romantic comedies. They are silly and frothy and delicious. They are also insightful and relevant and thoughtful. You see, Ms. Ephron recognized that writing, like life, need not always be grim and serious to have a point.
Around the same time as Ms. Ephron was writing and directing successful movies, I received my first real rejection letter: I lost a local writing contest because the piece I submitted wasn’t dark enough. But here’s the truth: I’m not dark. I can’t make myself be. All snark aside, I’m a pretty genuinely sunny person.
And Nora Ephron with her wonderfully smart and witty style made me believe that was okay.
She once famously said that her mother advised her that “everything is copy.” I feel much the same way. Most of my writing – whether it’s tax-related or fiction – is taken from what I see in the world around me. And I am happy to say that I think it’s a pretty good place to be.
So thank you, Nora Ephron, for being such an inspiration to girls like me who grew up just wanting to write and occasionally, to make someone laugh.
