Earl Javorsky

TV Pilot Winner
​
"Charlie Miner"

Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?      
Oceanside, CA
 
Your script stood out among hundreds of others. What was the inspiration for your story and why did you write a script instead of a short story or a novel? 
The pilot script was adapted from my novel Down Solo. The concept—a guy wakes up looking down at his body on a gurney at the morgue, reanimates it, and now has to go find out who murdered him—just popped into my head one day and I had to run with it.
 
How long did it take you to write your script...and what is your writing process? Do you outline...use index cards...white board...or just start with FADE IN? 
The script was cribbed from my book, so it didn’t take long. The book, on the other hand—I had this far-fetched idea, so now what? I put it aside. A few months later, I thought, okay, what if he’s a PI? Maybe he has a drug problem. Maybe a case he was working on got him murdered. What if the bullet in his head impaired his memory, and he has to reconstruct the events leading up to his murder by looking at clues he can pick up through his case files? Asking questions creates possibilities.
I use index cards and have a rough idea where I’m going (once I get going). I am entirely undisciplined. I tend to create puzzles for myself that I have no idea how to solve until clarity appears, as if by magic.
 
What is your ultimate ambition as a writer? 
I would be delighted to see Charlie Miner become a Netflix series, but I’m a better novelist than screenwriter, and hope to find—now that I’ve fulfilled my previous publishing contract—a publisher with a bit more marketing clout.
 
Your script stood out among hundreds of others. What was the inspiration for your story and why did you write a script instead of a short story or a novel? 
The pilot script was adapted from my novel Down Solo. The concept—a guy wakes up looking down at his body on a gurney at the morgue, reanimates it, and now has to go find out who murdered him—just popped into my head one day and I had to run with it.
 
How long did it take you to write your script...and what is your writing process? Do you outline...use index cards...white board...or just start with FADE IN? 
The script was cribbed from my book, so it didn’t take long. The book, on the other hand—I had this far-fetched idea, so now what? I put it aside. A few months later, I thought, okay, what if he’s a PI? Maybe he has a drug problem. Maybe a case he was working on got him murdered. What if the bullet in his head impaired his memory, and he has to reconstruct the events leading up to his murder by looking at clues he can pick up through his case files? Asking questions creates possibilities.
 I use index cards and have a rough idea where I’m going (once I get going). I am entirely undisciplined. I tend to create puzzles for myself that I have no idea how to solve until clarity appears, as if by magic.
 
What is your ultimate ambition as a writer? 
I would be delighted to see Charlie Miner become a Netflix series, but I’m a better novelist than screenwriter, and hope to find—now that I’ve fulfilled my previous publishing contract—a publisher with a bit more marketing clout.
 
Which film or television writers inspire you? Why? 
The Coen brothers, for their wacky portrayals of eccentrics, goofy plots, pitch-perfect dialog, humor, and surprises. And their love of craft.
 
What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show? 
Too much great stuff to narrow down to a favorite. I loved True Detective (first season), Taboo, Rectify, Euphoria—these come to mind. And My Brilliant Friend. My favorite film is The Tree of Life, though many others come close: The Limey; Man on Fire; Once upon a Time in America—I could go on and on.
 
What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have? 
Choose carefully. Don’t pin all your hopes on winning a contest; find other ways to get exposure for your work.
 
What else are you working on that the world needs to know about? 
I am working on a fourth novel and have a rough idea of what a third Charlie Miner book will look like.
 

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