Hank Isaac
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Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
U.S. Pacific Northwest

Your script stood out among hundreds of others. What was the inspiration for your story?
My niche is creating stories about young characters, primarily intelligent adventurous children. Kyla's War is a one-hour-format TV series set in occupied Poland during WWII. The main character is a well-to-do twelve-year-old girl who leads a double life as a Resistance fighter. Part of the inspiration for Kyla is my sculpture professor from when I was in design school. He was in the Polish Resistance at age thirteen. The other part of my inspiration is our daughter – smart and fearless.
...and why did you write a script instead of a short story or a novel?
I experience life visually, so screenwriting is natural for me. Writing in general has always put me off because I simply can't get the words on the page fast enough. Screenwriting has been a fair compromise.

How long did it take you to write your script...and what is your writing process?
The pilot episode of Kyla's War took only a few days to write. I'd thought about it for a few months, then just dove in. I polished it for maybe three or four months after.

Do you outline...use index cards...white board...or just start with FADE IN?
My writing is pretty much organic. I outline/plan/visualize mostly in my head. Then I put myself in the environment of the story.

What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
I'd like to be able to share as much of my work with audiences as possible.

Which film or television writers inspire you? Why?
Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad); Joe Weisberg, et al (The Americans); Amy & Daniel Palladino (Gilmore Girls, Mrs. Maisel); Aaron Sorkin (lots & lots).  They fully engage an audience.

What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show?
Wow, there are so many. If you're going to make me pick just one, I'd have to say the TV series, The Americans.  Though I did watch the original Time Machine thirteen times in the theatre when I was twelve.  Also The Time Traveler's Wife (both film & TV series).

What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?
Like most of this industry, competitions are wholly subjective. You can win one then not even make it into the quarterfinals of another, both with the exact same screenplay. That fact alone should be enough to make winning anything moot. Better to just write one's best and always, always, write from the heart.

​What else are you working on that the world needs to know about?
Oh, my! Too long a list. Try here: hankthewriter.com

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