--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My parents were screenwriters, and they…" description: "\"My parents were screenwriters, and they had four daughters and we all write. So that's amazing. Talk about powerful parents. My mother always said to u..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/nora-ephron-1217_copies_my-parents-were-screenwriters-and-they-h_223578.jpg" --- # My parents were screenwriters, and they had four daughters… ![“My parents were screenwriters, and they had four daughters and we all write. So that's amazing. Talk about powerful parents. My mother always said to us, "Everything is copy."” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/nora-ephron-1217_copies_my-parents-were-screenwriters-and-they-h_223578.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/nora-ephron-1217_copies_my-parents-were-screenwriters-and-they-h_223578.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/nora-ephron-1217_copies_my-parents-were-screenwriters-and-they-h_223578.jpg) > “My parents were screenwriters, and they had four daughters and we all write. So that's amazing. Talk about powerful parents. My mother always said to us, "Everything is copy."” [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights how creative influence and habits can be passed down in families, emphasizing the role of parental guidance. **In simple terms:** Parents can shape creative careers. Key Takeaway Recognize parental influence. Themes family creativity legacy Mood reflective encouraging Type personal family When to use this quote - career development - writing workshops Key Concepts generational learning skill transmission Questions to Reflect On - How does family shape your creative path? - What role does mentorship play in skill development? A Different Perspective Not everyone inherits talent; effort matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daughter/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Screenwriters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/screenwriters/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Too few journalists become screenwriters. I say to all the would-be screenwriters: Become journalists. And I’ll say to working journalists: Do not stay journalists.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/too-few-journalists-become-screenwriters-i-say-to-all-the-would-be/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [A lot of college graduates approach me about becoming screenwriters. I tell them, 'Do not become a screenwriter, become a journalist,' because journalists go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/a-lot-of-college-graduates-approach-me-about-becoming-screenwriters-i/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [Most directors, I discovered, need to be convinced that the screenplay they're going to direct has something to do with them. And this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/most-directors-i-discovered-need-to-be-convinced-that-the-screenplay/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [When you're a screenwriter, it's like being a mechanic. You open the hood of the story, the director is the driver, and he says,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bidegain/when-you-re-a-screenwriter-it-s-like-being-a-mechanic-you-open-the/) [Thomas Bidegain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bidegain/) > [We weep for a bird’s cry, but not for a fish’s blood. Blessed are those with a voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mamoru-oshii/we-weep-for-a-bird-s-cry-but-not-for-a-fish-s-blood-blessed-are-those/) [Mamoru Oshii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mamoru-oshii/) > [You are the executive director and screenwriter of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-thomas/you-are-the-executive-director-and-screenwriter-of-your-life/) [Eric Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-thomas/) > [Graphic novels and comic books offer an easy foothold into that world, and screenwriters and studio execs gravitate toward those, because I think they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-reynolds/graphic-novels-and-comic-books-offer-an-easy-foothold-into-that-world/) [Ryan Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-reynolds/) > [A screenwriter is much like being a fire hydrant with a bunch of dogs lined up around it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-miller/a-screenwriter-is-much-like-being-a-fire-hydrant-with-a-bunch-of-dogs/) [Frank Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-miller/) > [From the onset of the 'Live-Read' series, we wanted to hit all the major writers and Woody Allen is simply one of the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-reitman/from-the-onset-of-the-live-read-series-we-wanted-to-hit-all-the-major/) [Jason Reitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-reitman/) > [A great trick that I learned having worked as a screenwriter for many years, the way screenwriters work, is they break the project down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/a-great-trick-that-i-learned-having-worked-as-a-screenwriter-for-many/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [If a story doesn't give you a hard-on in the first couple of scenes, throw it in the goddamned garbage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/if-a-story-doesn-t-give-you-a-hard-on-in-the-first-couple-of-scenes/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [If you've got craft, you got game. If you got game, you can write your way in and out of anything. Writing is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mark-kamen/if-you-ve-got-craft-you-got-game-if-you-got-game-you-can-write-your/) Robert Mark Kamen > [All the reasons which made the initiation of physical force evil, make the retaliatory use of physical force a moral imperative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/all-the-reasons-which-made-the-initiation-of-physical-force-evil-make/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Though 'Moneyball' had the talents of screenwriters Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin going for it, they weren't baseball insiders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-pitt/though-moneyball-had-the-talents-of-screenwriters-steven-zaillian-and/) [Brad Pitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-pitt/) > [All drama is conflict. Without conflict, there is no action. Without action, there is no character. Without character, there is no story. And without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd-field/all-drama-is-conflict-without-conflict-there-is-no-action-without/) [Syd Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd-field/) ## More by Nora Ephron > [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-the-possible-irrelevance-of/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [“That's the catch about betrayal, of course: that it feels good, that there's something immensely pleasurable about moving from a complicated relationship which involves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/that-s-the-catch-about-betrayal-of-course-that-it-feels-good-that/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [“The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/the-whole-purpose-of-places-like-starbucks-is-for-people-with-no/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [Death is a sniper. It strikes people you love, people you like, people you know - it's everywhere. You could be next. But then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/death-is-a-sniper-it-strikes-people-you-love-people-you-like-people/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > ['When you slip on a banana peel, people laugh at you. When you tell people you slipped on a banana peel, it's your laugh.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/when-you-slip-on-a-banana-peel-people-laugh-at-you-when-you-tell/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [“I wish he were better at hailing taxis than I am; on the other hand, I realize that expectation is culturally conditioned, utterly foolish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/i-wish-he-were-better-at-hailing-taxis-than-i-am-on-the-other-hand-i/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [You enter into a certain amount of madness when you marry a person with pets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/you-enter-into-a-certain-amount-of-madness-when-you-marry-a-person/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [I never went near the Wellesley College chapel in my four years there, but I am still amazed at the amount of Christian charity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/i-never-went-near-the-wellesley-college-chapel-in-my-four-years-there/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [You can't call yourself a feminist if you don't believe in the right to abortion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/you-can-t-call-yourself-a-feminist-if-you-don-t-believe-in-the-right/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [“I always read the last page of a book first so that if I die before I finish I'll know how it turned out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/i-always-read-the-last-page-of-a-book-first-so-that-if-i-die-before-i/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [“If I was home alone at night, I cooked myself an entire meal from one of these cookbooks. Then I sat down in front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/if-i-was-home-alone-at-night-i-cooked-myself-an-entire-meal-from-one/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [“The next man I was involved with lived in Boston. He taught me to cook mushrooms. He taught me that if you heat the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/the-next-man-i-was-involved-with-lived-in-boston-he-taught-me-to-cook/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [“Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/whatever-you-choose-however-many-roads-you-travel-i-hope-that-you/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [A man who finishes a book is always alone when he finishes it...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/a-man-who-finishes-a-book-is-always-alone-when-he-finishes-it/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [“I hear myself saying these words: What this movement is about is options. I say it to friends who are frustrated, or housebound, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/i-hear-myself-saying-these-words-what-this-movement-is-about-is/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) [Explore all 272 Nora Ephron quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) ## More Copies quotes > [every being is unique.god neva creates carbon copies,he alys creates originals.he is truly a creator.he neva repeats.but man goes on living in imitation.we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-being-is-unique-god-neva-creates-carbon-copies-he-alys-creates/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My songs are like cheap Neil Young copies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-bachman/my-songs-are-like-cheap-neil-young-copies/) [Randy Bachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-bachman/) > [In that part of the book of my memory before the which is little that can be read, there is a rubric, saying, Incipit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/in-that-part-of-the-book-of-my-memory-before-the-which-is-little-that/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [I remember being a kid and seeing the 'National Inquirer' at the grocery store checkout line. When somebody actually picked up a copy, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-jones/i-remember-being-a-kid-and-seeing-the-national-inquirer-at-the/) [Rashida Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-jones/) > [The idea is not to copy nature, but to give a feeling of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-oudolf/the-idea-is-not-to-copy-nature-but-to-give-a-feeling-of-nature/) Piet Oudolf > [“When copies are free, you need to sell things that cannot be copied. Well, what can’t be copied? Trust, for instance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/when-copies-are-free-you-need-to-sell-things-that-cannot-be-copied/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [Mr Witwould: "Pray, madam, do you pin up your hair with all your letters? I find I must keep copies." Mrs Millamant: "Only with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-congreve/mr-witwould-pray-madam-do-you-pin-up-your-hair-with-all-your-letters/) [William Congreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-congreve/) > [There have to be at least two copies of a photograph, otherwise it’s not a photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ruff/there-have-to-be-at-least-two-copies-of-a-photograph-otherwise-it-s/) [Thomas Ruff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ruff/) > [In market research I did at Microsoft Corp. in the early 1990s, I estimated that the 'Wall Street Journal' took in about 75 cents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/in-market-research-i-did-at-microsoft-corp-in-the-early-1990s-i/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [Guys like Todd Bridges never overcame being a child star. You can't have any big failures. I've always felt regular. I played organized ball…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bow-wow/guys-like-todd-bridges-never-overcame-being-a-child-star-you-can-t/) [Bow Wow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bow-wow/) > [It was only after I had been out of the art school that I actually copied a small Seurat, and I copied it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/it-was-only-after-i-had-been-out-of-the-art-school-that-i-actually/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) > [We call ourselves creators and we just copy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauryn-hill/we-call-ourselves-creators-and-we-just-copy/) [Lauryn Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauryn-hill/) > [People have one of two extreme reactions to my book. They either throw it across the room, or they rush out and buy 10…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/people-have-one-of-two-extreme-reactions-to-my-book-they-either-throw/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [A presentation copy...is a copy of a book whoch does not sell, sent you by the author, with his foolish autograph at the beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/a-presentation-copy-is-a-copy-of-a-book-whoch-does-not-sell-sent-you/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [We are all born originals, why is it so many of us die copies?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/we-are-all-born-originals-why-is-it-so-many-of-us-die-copies/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) Browse all 971 Copies quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My parents were screenwriters, and they had four daughters and we all write. So that's amazing. Talk about powerful parents. My mother always said to us, \"Everything is copy.\"", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nora Ephron" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/my-parents-were-screenwriters-and-they-had-four-daughters-and-we-all/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Copies" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/my-parents-were-screenwriters-and-they-had-four-daughters-and-we-all/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/nora-ephron-1217_copies_my-parents-were-screenwriters-and-they-h_223578.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/nora-ephron-1217_copies_my-parents-were-screenwriters-and-they-h_223578.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/nora-ephron-1217_copies_my-parents-were-screenwriters-and-they-h_223578.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My parents were screenwriters, and they had four daughters and we all write. So that's amazing. Talk about…” — Nora Ephron", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nora Ephron", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My parents were screenwriters, and they...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/my-parents-were-screenwriters-and-they-had-four-daughters-and-we-all/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/my-parents-were-screenwriters-and-they-had-four-daughters-and-we-all/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```