For two 1 ) When the writer stoops to cover his own family , you can bet he 's stuck for ideas ; 2 ) Unless one 's family is terribly unusual , such efforts violate a great unspoken but true Other Peoples ' Kids Are Boring .
You know a writer is running out of ideas when he decides to write about his own family ; unless his family is really unique , it violates an unspoken rule about how other people 's kid are boring .