Oct 5, 2026 · 32 min · 11 segments
A powerful mindset forces you to write scripts for TV and movies that compel viewers to watch. Keeps them glued to the screen, in fact. There’s a nearly identical mindset like that for writing copy…
David GarfinkelHost
Nathan FraserHost
[laughs] So remember that a movie, a TV show, and the copy you're writing all have the same goal, to get people's attention and to keep their attention by compelling and creating curiosity in the viewer or reader, and that's what these rules are designed to produce.
We'll start with some Mamet writing rules from his book, Three Uses of the Knife: On the Nature and Purpose of Drama.
As you will see, a lot of the advice transfers over to copywriting, and this can help you keep prospects' attention and increase their engagement, as well as make more sales.
It's worth getting the book and reading the whole thing because Mamet is such a good writer, and you'll discover stuff we didn't have room for in the podcast.
The first rule from the book is follow every apparent win with a complication that threatens or even reverses the win.
And of course, the rule in drama is for the protagonist, the hero in the story.
And this is especially important in drama because a series of uninterrupted wins for your hero with no challenges or threats or resistance makes for a pretty boring story.
You might not have realized it, but every blockbuster movie, every best-selling novel is the story of a hero going through one failure after another until they overcome the final hurdle and win, if that's how the story ends, and that's your typical Hollywood ending.
It's something like real life, but most of us don't encounter one life-threatening obstacle after another every day.
In drama, it means the hero's attempt to reach the goal leads to frustration after frustration, even when it looks like the hero has scored a win.
During your copy, your prospect or the person in the story may have found a temporary solution to the problem, but the solution itself creates or reveals a new problem.
This needs to keep happening until you make your offer, which does not lead to a new problem at this time.
I wouldn't make the copywriting rule as extreme and absolute as the drama rule.
You can have some wins for the person in your copy or your prospect without any drawbacks.
But make sure that if it's a real problem you're solving, there need to be some hurdles to overcome, just like in real life, especially when you think you've landed on the solution and it looks like there'll never be another problem again.
This works because each seeming solution actually raises the stakes, so the reader cannot breathe that much wanted sigh of relief, because that would come after they hit the buy button.
[laughs] So remember that a movie, a TV show, and the copy you're writing all have the same goal, to get people's attention and to keep their attention by compelling and creating curiosity in the viewer or reader, and that's what these rules are designed to produce.
We'll start with some Mamet writing rules from his book, Three Uses of the Knife: On the Nature and Purpose of Drama.
As you will see, a lot of the advice transfers over to copywriting, and this can help you keep prospects' attention and increase their engagement, as well as make more sales.
It's worth getting the book and reading the whole thing because Mamet is such a good writer, and you'll discover stuff we didn't have room for in the podcast.
The first rule from the book is follow every apparent win with a complication that threatens or even reverses the win.
And of course, the rule in drama is for the protagonist, the hero in the story.
And this is especially important in drama because a series of uninterrupted wins for your hero with no challenges or threats or resistance makes for a pretty boring story.
You might not have realized it, but every blockbuster movie, every best-selling novel is the story of a hero going through one failure after another until they overcome the final hurdle and win, if that's how the story ends, and that's your typical Hollywood ending.
It's something like real life, but most of us don't encounter one life-threatening obstacle after another every day.
In drama, it means the hero's attempt to reach the goal leads to frustration after frustration, even when it looks like the hero has scored a win.
During your copy, your prospect or the person in the story may have found a temporary solution to the problem, but the solution itself creates or reveals a new problem.
This needs to keep happening until you make your offer, which does not lead to a new problem at this time.
I wouldn't make the copywriting rule as extreme and absolute as the drama rule.
You can have some wins for the person in your copy or your prospect without any drawbacks.
But make sure that if it's a real problem you're solving, there need to be some hurdles to overcome, just like in real life, especially when you think you've landed on the solution and it looks like there'll never be another problem again.
This works because each seeming solution actually raises the stakes, so the reader cannot breathe that much wanted sigh of relief, because that would come after they hit the buy button.
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