Absolutely the best writing advice available today.

[elfs]

David Mamet to the writers of The Unit:

Our friends, the penguins, think that we, therefore, are employed to communicate information — and, so, at times, it seems to us.

But note: the audience will not tune in to watch information. You wouldn’t, I wouldn’t. No one would or will. The audience will only tune in and stay tuned to watch drama.

Question: what is drama? Drama, again, is the quest of the hero to overcome those things which prevent him from achieving a specific, acute goal.

I suspect “the penguins” is Mamet’s way of writing “the suits.”  There’s much more, and I recommend you read it all.

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