Don Draper’s Infuriating Piece of Writing Advice That Never Fails
You have to admit, the man’s copy is solid
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There are many reasons to watch, and re-watch, Mad Men. The truly unparalleled costume design. The character arc of Peggy Olson. The ornate bar carts and period cocktail paraphernalia.
But perhaps chief among those reasons is the writing advice espoused by the show’s protagonist, Donald Draper.
There are as many reasons to love Don as there are to hate him. This, of course, is what makes him such a compelling character—you’re rooting for him all the way, despite the fact that he is an objectively immoral human being. But love him or hate him, you have to admit: The man’s copy is solid.
I didn’t catch all the writing advice the first time I watched the show. In a recent re-watching binge, I realized that’s because Don often gives it in a blink-and-you-miss-it style. He’ll be giving some pithy piece of feedback to one of his underlings, and in half a breath he’ll fire off a piece of wisdom that lesser beings could scarcely deliver in an entire writing e-course.
