I guess he's Stephen King, master of the paranormal, he telepathically knows everyone's phone numbers

Never explained

Chris Packham and Roger Moore are wrong (I assume this isn't the Roger Moore)

it could have been about people who are convinced they have unique insight into the world but eventually realize that other people are worlds into themselves. but no. instead we get blatant wish fulfillment fantasies that make no sense and don't hold up.

there is a moment earlier in the movie, where the novelist and his ex-wife are talking and he makes a reference to her favorite book being a John Cheever short story collection only to slowly realize that that was a lie she told him, when we get a sense of what this movie could have been.

when the kid answers a phone and we get the following dialogue:

"Hello, I'm Stephen King and I'm calling to tell you I loved your story."

"Mr. King-"

"Stephen, please."

"Stephen, you...you liked my story?"

"No, I didn't like it. I loved it."

I turned off the film and laughed for a full minute

at the end of the movie the ex-wife decides to leave her new husband and return to the unpleasant, listless man who stalks her. this is presented as a happy ending.

no one gets dumped, no one gets rejected, no one even gets criticized

even their romantic problems aren't really problems! the girl has a fight with her boyfriend because he tells her she should make up with her mom, but they reconcile pretty quickly. the boy learns that his girlfriend has a serious drug problem, but she promises to return after she goes through rehab

we never learn what this novel or short story are about. we never get a sense of why a reading audience would be so enraptured by the work of these spoiled wealthy Marin County teens, whose only problem is that although their mom loves them, she is not doing exactly what they want.

the son writes a short story so good that he gets a congratulatory phone call from Stephen King himself, who personally arranges for it to be published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

the main plot points are characters occasionally having extraordinary literary achievements. the daughter has a book launch party that seems to cost as much as a wedding and has an open bar. her book gets rave reviews and becomes a best seller.

so the movie just blunders on, plotlessly. the novelist guy stalks his ex and watches her fighting and having sex and playing Dance Dance Revolution with her new husband. his ex-wife occasionally asks him politely to stop stalking her. their children have uninteresting romantic relationships.

also she is played very badly by Lily Collins, who has since continued to fail upwards

instead we see her at sad college parties saying stuff to bored freshman guys like "you don't get it! we don't matter, we're just one star in the vastness of space" and "there are two types of people, romantics and realists" and I think we're supposed to be blown away by her charm and wisdom but- no

the girl is so much worse. she is already a successful novelist at the age of 19, having sold her first novel to a major publisher as the movie opens. this novel is supposedly a trenchant and insightful look at romantic and sexual relationships, although she has apparently never had any.