The Storyteller Pod

The Storyteller Pod The Storyteller Pod is where Screenwriters come to grow; explore our courses and join the community. Arts & Entertainment

I am sure you have heard the saying: “THERE'S NO REST FOR THE WICKED.”Well, my writer and creative friends, I have good ...
12/06/2026

I am sure you have heard the saying: “THERE'S NO REST FOR THE WICKED.”

Well, my writer and creative friends, I have good news: You are not the wicked!!

Which means you get to rest.
Properly.

Not fake-resting while answering emails. Not “resting” with your laptop open beside you. Not lying on the couch while mentally rewriting Act Two, worrying about invoices, thinking about that unanswered message, or making a secret list of everything you should be "GETTING DONE".

Actual rest.

The kind where your brain gets to unclench.

Rest is not laziness. Rest is not failure. Rest is not proof that you are not serious enough.

Rest is a blessing. A BLESSING YOU HAVE EARNED... for no reason at all. Simply for being human.

And if you are a writer, a creative, a teacher, a parent, a freelancer, a founder, a dreamer, or any other variety of human trying to make meaningful things in this world, then rest is not optional maintenance. It is part of the work.

So as you boldly go into the weekend, please remember: you are, in fact, not the wicked, and the divine blessing of rest is waiting for you.

Make it a priority. Make it intentional. Most of all, MAKE IT HAPPEN!

The most important thing you need to “get done” this weekend is REST.

With love — and some long, intentional naps,
Natasje from The Storyteller Pod

As some of you know, I am currently writing a sister-book to accompany my feature.And let me tell you: I have been stumb...
11/06/2026

As some of you know, I am currently writing a sister-book to accompany my feature.

And let me tell you: I have been stumbling through the desert like a lost fallen pilot, with The English Patient flashbacks... the other side of my comfort zone sure is UNCOMFORTABLE!

So, being a sensible writer, I set about looking for a novel writing course. Basically, I am looking for Pitch to Script… but for novels. Let me tell you, I have sifted...
And sifted...
And sifted...

There are lovely courses out there. Inspiring courses. Interesting courses. Courses with beautiful promises and clever people and probably excellent handouts.

But I have not yet found what I am looking for. Which got me thinking what is the thing I am missing?

PROCESS.

I need DOING and a PROCESS to do it ...

Now, every writer has their own process. Of course they do. And in novel writing it does seem to be more free and wide.

But as I TV writer, I need a vastly FIRMER sense of PROCESS than my fellow writers in the novel village are offering. Process really is the thing that carries you when inspiration does not show up. When luck is not on your side. When the page is being rude and your brain has decided to go and live in a cave.

For novelists, deadlines exist, but they often look different. For TV writers, especially when you write on shows, you need to produce. You need to deliver. And often on demand.

So you need A PROCESS!!

That is what I keep coming back to with The Storyteller Pod. Maybe the curriculum should just be called: THE PROCESS. Because that is what we teach.

As for the novel? Per Margaret Atwood’s advice, I may simply have to climb my own mountain of trial and error until I find mine.

*shakes head* ... Novels.

10/06/2026

WANNA BE… "ONE OF US!" ...?
Then try a class TONIGHT.

This is a personal invitation from the students in our Pitch to Script 104 class. Not just Charlie’s Angels / The Spice Girls (Marcie Colleen, Natalie Rompella and Alex English) featured in the photo — but from the whole room (7 writers enrolled!!)

Why? Because writing classes are always better with more writers in the room: More brains. More ideas. More laughter. More FUN!!

Pitch to Script is not just a "writing class" or even as I like to call it "a career strategy": It's a TRIBE. It's a FAMILY of writers.

People who came up the ladder with you and are forever bonded to you as you walk this road called "A WRITING CAREER."

How do you "trauma-bond" 🤣 🤣 in class?
💪 You write together - rapping and tapping
💪 You discussion and feedback together.
💪 You give and receive notes - in class edits and you share a DRIVE folder.
💪 You brainstorm together... you learn to be good in a room together.

And one day when you run your own rooms, who will you pick to sit at your table: YOUR TRIBE.

You need a tribe if you are going to be a screenwriter. The orphan-writer life is hard. Building your career alone is the stuff of ulcers.

This industry becomes a joy when you have a writer-family!

At The Storyteller Pod, we have writers in our WhatsApp groups who have been connected for nearly 10 years! They go to events together in their own countries. They meet up. They share opportunities. They become each other’s people.

That is the magic.

We build rooms where writers are seen, stretched, supported, and welcomed.

So if you are wondering whether this is you… Whether you can be ..."One of us! One of Us! One of... "

Come try it. TONIGHT!!

It's free. Because we are a welcoming and inviting bunch!!
Online, from anywhere in the world.
6 PM UK.

Mail Natasje VAN NIEKERK at [email protected] to reserve your seat.

Come see if you’re... " One of us! One of ..." and bring your delicious inner-freak! We love that here.

**TRUTH BE TOLD: I have never thought of myself as a 'teacher'**But that may in part also be because in my head I see a ...
09/06/2026

**TRUTH BE TOLD: I have never thought of myself as a 'teacher'**

But that may in part also be because in my head I see a fuddy duddy droning on about something.

The other part is because I don't think you can TEACH people how to write. If someone who can't write comes to me, I don't know what to do or how to help them write. Literally.

However... when a writer comes to me and they need to master a particular skill or understand a format or they are stuck at some story point, I AM YOUR GIRL! To me, that has more to do with my understanding of story than my ability to make another person do a thing.

So when I saw this: "A GOOD TEACHER DOESN’T JUST SHOW YOU WHAT’S WRONG, THEY SHOW YOU HOW TO FIX IT." I literally thought... hey, maybe I am a "good" teacher. I have always called myself a facilitator of story. Maybe I will - moving forward - rather say: "I am not a teacher, I am a good-teacher." 😄 So people will know... I'm a "fixer" of sorts.

I may go with "Fixer"... but I fear people bringing dead bodies around. 🫣 Can't help you with that, buddy. *Sneaks off and deletes browser history*

Seriously, though guys: That is the difference in the "TEACHING" at The Storyteller Pod.

Anyone can say: “The structure isn’t working.”
Wonderful. Thank you. I shall now go stand in the garden and scream at a tree. (It's like the GP telling you you have a cold. I know that, dammit!)

A Good-teacher / Fixer helps you understand why it isn’t working. And goes on to show you a... wait for it: **PROCESS** toward a solution.

You need the recipe. The route. The next step. The “okay, let’s look at this properly and work out what the story is asking for.”

Cue: THE FIXER... *crowd roaaaaars* ... screw it! Still sounds like I'm going to bring latex gloves. Let's stick to:

Cue: The GOOD-Teacher!!

😎 😎 😎

Now if you are an animation writer who wants to learn to level up... POP ME A MAIL, on Wednesday night, we're doing a FREE taster class for Pitch to Script 104! ADVANCED WRITING FOR ANIMATION.

[email protected]

08/06/2026

FROM EMERGING WRITER TO TRUSTED WRITER

There is a difference between getting a chance and becoming the writer people trust. Especially early in your career.

An emerging writer may get one episode. One opportunity. One shot. And that is wonderful. Truly. That first yes matters.

But the real career shift happens when people start thinking of you as someone they can trust with the work.

Someone who can be useful inside someone else’s machine.

That is a different muscle.

Because writing on a show is not the same as writing your own beautiful thing in your own beautiful corner. It means understanding the engine of the show and bringing your skill to it ... it mostly comes with practise and experience.

Because TALENT gets you noticed, it gets you in. PROCESS gets you trusted.

This is the BRIDGE we want to cross at The Storyteller Pod with our Pitch to Script-course. Giving you a space to practise and get experience. While showing you what you can expect and how to go about "your job"... in a safe space.

That is how you move from promising to professional.

From emerging to trusted.

Pitch to Script 104 is our advanced writing course for animated series.

We start Wednesday.

Look at it ONLINE here: https://www.thestorytellerpod.com/course/pitch-to-script-104-2026

And if you are sitting on the fence and want to test drive it, mail me at [email protected] for a free seat in Wednesday’s class.

Come see what the Storyteller Pod-hype is about.

I'm looking forward to seeing you grow from good to great... from "emerging writer" to TRUSTED writer - with a string of episodes!

My fellow creatives... I know how exhausting it is to chase! I am building a house, i am constantly chasing someone or s...
03/06/2026

My fellow creatives... I know how exhausting it is to chase! I am building a house, i am constantly chasing someone or some thing!

It's not the way of the Jedi!!

But... DON’T CHASE. CREATE.

I also intimately know it professionally: Chase the opportunity. Chase the meeting. Chase the person who said they might read. Chase the email. Chase the reply. Chase the open door. Chase the little breadcrumb that may or may not lead somewhere.

Just pause here and take note that THE CHASE is usually after a breadcrumb. It sucks and steals your will to live.

STOP CHASING. CREATE.

I know I know... sometimes we do have to knock. Sometimes we do have to follow up. Sometimes we do have to put ourselves forward. We 100% have to always ASK FOR WHAT WE WANT. I am not saying sit under a tree and wait for your fairy godmother to arrive with a contract and a snack.

But: We are not made ONLY to chase.

We are made to CREATE.

My number one piece of advice to writers and creatives is always: get busy creating. Build the thing. Write the sample. Finish the scene. Develop the pitch. Make the short. Shape the world. Practise the hand. Get better at the work.

Build Vegas, my friends. The people can only come when there is somewhere to go.

Our May theme was: Let me catch you writing.
In June, let's lock that idea in by adding: Don’t chase.

Create.

Go on... Get your butt in your chair and WRITE! CRE-EEE-AAA-AAATE!!

Address

Johannesburg
2101

Opening Hours

Monday 09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 17:00
Thursday 09:00 - 17:00
Friday 09:00 - 17:00

Telephone

+27761500152

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Storyteller Pod posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Establishment

Send a message to The Storyteller Pod:

Shortcuts

Share

Category