Pazartesi Script Club, Year One

Facebook memories keep reminding me, though I don’t really need them. I was already in a reflective mood with the year coming to an end. So here’s a little recap of my script club in 2025.

1. How it started: I was reading and analysing scripts on my own, reverse-engineering them to understand what made stories work. Then I discovered monthly script clubs and quickly fell in love with the idea. Inspired by CenterFrame’s Script Club and Sundance Collab, I founded my own script club in November 2024.

2. The name “Pazartesi”: It means “Monday” in Turkish. Somehow, despite its usual negative associations, I realised I actually love Mondays. I love their seriousness, that sense of beginning, the feeling that everything is still possible. Just like screenwriting, it requires discipline, but it’s also fun and exciting. Since it also marks time, it’s easier for it to feel like a tradition: meeting on a Monday once a month.

3. Groundhog Day: Groundhog Day is simply my all-time favourite movie, so it naturally became the subject of our first meeting. I was happy to find the script online, but as I kept reading, I realised it wasn’t the final draft. There were major differences between the version I had and the finished film. I got quite frustrated. My deep-dive internet search for the final version led nowhere, so I decided to ask the screenwriter himself, Danny Rubin. Audacity? Maybe. But I had nothing to lose.

4. Danny Rubin is my pen friend (not really): I sent an email explaining the situation, and he replied quickly. Not only did he kindly share a scan of the shooting script, but he also explained how Harold Ramis added an opening scene after test screenings and how Bill Murray improvised some of his lines.

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17/12/2025 0

The Unexpected Lesson I Learned from John Yorke: Creative Community Building

At the beginning of summer, I joined John Yorke’s 16-week training on story structure, and though it ended a few weeks ago, it’s still keeping me inspired. How?

Now I’m in the alumni area, which connects not only classmates but everyone who has ever taken the course, as well as participants from other programs on the platform.
There are weekly “sit & write” sessions where writers from around the world gather online and focus on their own projects for two hours, as well as monthly interviews with authors, screenwriters and producers. Honestly, it feels like having a lifetime free-flying pass for creative growth.

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22/10/2025 0

Everyone Says Call My Agent! (Spoiler: But in very different ways)

This month, our Script Club focused on the Turkish version of Call My Agent! (the acclaimed French series Dix Pour Cent).
As I dug into the pilot script, I noticed the starkly different creative choices between the French and Turkish versions.

Sure, much of it comes down to culture, industry norms, and audience expectations but what fascinated me was how these elements translate into the dramatic codes of each country. And as a writer, I wondered if I could learn something from seeing how each remake reshaped the same story through its own lens.

Here is what I did to find out.

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14/10/2025 0

Just a story?

Sometimes I can’t help but wonder: if we haven’t been personally transformed over the years, then what are we even doing in the storytelling business? Where do all those stories we take in go? Do we just watch them and think, “Well, that only happens in movies”? Are the characters the only ones who need to grow — while we remain safely untouched?

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15/06/2025 0

New Storytelling Journey Ahead: John Yorke’s Advanced Structure Training

I’ve always loved the first day of school — and today is no exception.
Here I am, sitting in my own room, yet connecting with writers from Australia to Portugal through John Yorke’s learning platform.
I’m especially excited about this journey, as the course offers a unique approach to online learning.
I plan to share my experiences and reflections here along the way — because sharing gives me a reason to pause and reflect.
And lately, I’ve come to believe that this, too, is an essential part of learning.

11/06/2025 0

Gravy Pots and CenterFrame Script Club

The Bear is not my favorite TV show. It’s just too loud and fast for my highly sensitive senses. I can feel the tension building in my body scene by scene, and by the end, I just want to throw a gravy pot at the wall—just like Carmy did in a scene from the pilot script that didn’t make the final cut.

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19/02/2025 0

Why Adapt?

Yesterday, I had a chance to join the Pop Up Series Incubator info call. Since the program is aimed at European screenwriters and producers, I’m not eligible for it, but I still wanted to be there and learn more about it. Just because: 1- Adaptation is one of my focuses as a writer. 2- I know firsthand how well-thought their programs are from my experience at the Netflix Adaptation Lab, also created by Tatino Films.

Lately, we’ve been witnessing the rise of IP-based drama around the world, and I feel it’s more rewarding than ever to have a work based on pre-existing IPs as writers and producers.

But why?

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30/11/2024 0

An Alternative Storytelling Process

Yesterday, I had the chance to attend an online presentation by LIM (Less is More), the European feature film programme. While the presentation focused primarily on their upcoming year-long training programme for story development, it gave me valuable insights into their overall philosophy. I must say, I’m quite impressed by their humanistic approach to storytelling.

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25/09/2024 0

It’s Teamwork

Some time ago, a producer seemed genuinely surprised that I have my own mind. I was equally surprised—why hire me if you don’t want me to use it?

If all I’m expected to do is write exactly what I’m told, then why have I been watching countless movies and TV shows from around the world, studying screenwriting books meticulously, and racking my brain over the mechanics of storytelling?

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21/08/2024 0

Owning My Taste For Films

I’m delighted to see that at least one of my New Year’s resolutions has lasted up to this day. 😊 At the beginning of this year, I made a commitment to write about the films I’ve seen. Primarily because, if I don’t do that, after a week or so, they vanish from my mind as if I’ve never watched them. Jung’s quote stating that it’s alright not to remember what we consume, as they become part of our subconscious mind nonetheless, wasn’t sufficient to reassure me anymore. So here we are.

However, there is also another reason for this quest: To own my taste for films without feeling any shame. And I must tell you; it’s been a quite journey to come to that point for me.

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13/03/2024 0