Write Without Limits
A 4-day writing retreat in legendary Taos, New Mexico
with Imaginative Storm co-creators Allegra Huston and James Navé
April 20 – 24, 2025
Teach your imagination to amaze you
In four enjoyably intense days, you’ll reach a level of writing you never thought possible.
~ Transform your inner critic into your most valuable ally
~ Bring originality and playfulness to your writing
~ Pack your writing with emotional power
~ Make writer’s block a thing of the past
You’ll finish the week with a powerful set of tools to take into the rest of your writing life.
What’s the secret? Write what you DON’T know
Enrollment is limited to 12 - only a few spots left!
Praise for our 2024 retreat
“I am without adequate words to express how perfect these last five days have been. You created magic.” — Lyn R., Los Angeles
“I loved the workshop and the group. It was valuable for me to get out of my head and into my heart a little more. I really appreciated the small group size and the valuable individual time with Allegra. Many thanks for your wisdom, energy and kindness.” — Virginia H., Toronto
“I loved how we all helped one another expand horizons, plumb depths, make discoveries and support one another in that process. Really enjoyed Navé’s “improv” time, such fun to observe as well as to try out.” —Marianne F., Taos
What are you writing?
Memoir? Creative or transformational nonfiction? Fiction? Poetry? Not sure yet? No matter what you’re writing, the key is emotional impact.
The Imaginative Storm method will give you simple techniques for writing fearlessly, authentically, and with unbridled curiosity. You wiil learn how tol:
~ replace criticism with appreciation
~ replace effort with flow
~ replace anxiety with excitement
~ replace self-doubt with confidence
You’ll finish this workshop with a powerful set of tools to take into the rest of your writing life.
Your Facilitators
Allegra Huston
“As a former Editorial Director of the London publisher Weidenfeld & Nicolson and holder of a First Class degree in English from Oxford University, I'm all about good writing. But when I started writing myself, I wasn't able to write anything I liked! Maybe I just can't write, I thought. I was trying as hard as I could to write well.
The Imaginative Storm method was a revelation to me. I learned that trying to write well didn't help me. That my writing would be better, and my own authentic voice would emerge, if I didn't try so hard. James Navé taught me to surprise myself and write what I don't know.”
As well as Write What You Don't Know, Allegra is the author of the bestselling Love Child: A Memoir of Family Lost and Found, the novel A Stolen Summer, How to Edit and Be Edited, and How to Read for an Audience (with James Navé). She wrote and produced the award-winning short film Good Luck, Mr. Gorski, and has also written numerous feature screenplays. Her articles have appeared in many major magazines in the US, UK, and France. An editor for over three decades, she worked with authors including three Booker Prize winners, two Nobel Prize winners, and Jane Goodall.
“Allegra Huston is incapable of writing a dull sentence.”
James Navé
“I came to the Imaginative Storm method from the spoken word tradition. As a founder of the company Poetry Alive!, I memorized over 600 poems and performed them for schoolchildren. (Poetry Alive! has to date reached over 5 million students.) I've competed in the National Poetry Slam and have emceed the LEAF Festival slam for 25 years.
My focus on creativity began when I co-founded The Artist's Way Creativity Camp in partnership with Julia Cameron, author of the perennial bestselling guide to creativity The Artist's Way. The principles and prompts that make up the Imaginative Storm method are the culmination of over 30 years of practice and exploration.”
Navé holds an MFA in Poetry from Vermont College of Fine Arts. His latest book of poems, 100 Days: Poems After Cancer, was published by 3: A Taos Press in May 2023. His poetry has appeared in many publications, and he has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered and Weekend Edition.
He hosts a weekly long-form interview podcast, available on YouTube @imaginativestorm, and has served on the advisory team of LEAF Global Arts since 1995.
“James Navé and I worked together for over 20 years. He has a quick, curious, and searching mind, plus a humanist eye for poetic detail. His work as a poet, teacher, and facilitator is an important force for change.”
we’ve been featured in
Allegra’s house, where we will enjoy our farewell dinner
Your Imaginative Storm Writing Retreat includes:
~ daily “write what you don’t know” workshops, focusing on creating a powerful emotional connection with your reader
~ one-on-one editing and advice sessions with Allegra (two hour-long sessions per participant; second session can occur in person on the days after the workshop, or on Zoom within two weeks - your choice)
~ daily salon conversations with Navé, exploring the day’s themes and any questions that arise
~ welcome drinks and hors d’oeuvres
~ an evening with acclaimed storyteller Cisco Guevara
~ visits to the studios of acclaimed artists
~ delicious freshly-cooked breakfasts at our base, historic Hacienda del Sol
~ closing dinner at Allegra’s house, with its 100-mile view of the New Mexico sunset
$1695 early-bird discount
FAQs
Do I need a background in creative writing to do this workshop?
The desire to write is all you need. If you write, you're a writer—no qualifications required. Total newbies have taken our workshops, and so have widely published writers. If you're a newbie, you'll gain confidence because you're generating surprising, intriguing material straight out of the gate. If you're a published writer, you'll be astonished by the new dimensions our method brings to your writing.
How is this different from other "free writing" workshops?
The Imaginative Storm method is far more wide-ranging than the simple concept of "free writing." It's not just a technique; it's a method. In the four days of this workshop, you’ll move from the imaginative storm to the creative form. First, you'll learn how to pack your writing with vivid imagery, fresh language, and authentic emotion. As you continue, you'll learn how to develop compelling character and narrative. Finally, you'll explore what creates the core of energy at the heart of all great stories.
Is there any reading required for this workshop?
No. We don't hold up examples of how you should write or require that you write about anything in particular. Our goal is to help you find your voice, not to try and "teach" you what "good writing" is. You'll be doing a lot of writing in this workshop—and in every single prompt you'll be writing about something that intrigues you.
Will I get critical feedback on my writing?
Yes, if you want it. You’ll get it in private, in our one-on-one sessions.
We don’t agree with the usual creative writing class model, or the masterclass model in which someone’s work is criticized by or in front of the group. Editing is not a spectator sport! The best editing comes from engaging in dialogue, not from “criticizing.” Many writers suffer needlessly because they receive negative feedback too early in the writing process.
The first rule of editing is praise. This isn’t wishy-washy: it’s essential. Praise is what gives you a benchmark to aim at. Praise is what motivates and energizes you. Praise is what gives you confidence and faith that you can make it to the end. Praise is how you know what you’re good at—and demonstrates to you that “good writing” is within reach of everybody.
Your Daily Schedule
Before we begin
The only things you’ll need are a cheap and cheerful notebook and a pen you like to write with.
If you’d like editorial feedback on the writing you’ve already produced, please send a maximum of 25 pages (12-pt font, double spaced) between April 7 and April 18 to allegra@imaginativestorm.com.
Sunday, April 20 ~ 5 – 7 pm
We’ll all meet at Hacienda del Sol, in Mabel’s living room, to enjoy drinks and hors d’oeuvres.
We’ll have a signup sheet so you can schedule your one-on-one hours of editing, coaching, publishing and/or marketing advice with us.
Monday, April 21
8 – 9:30 am: breakfast at the Hacienda, optional sessions with Navé
9:30 am - 1 pm: group writing session
2 – 6 pm: individual sessions with Allegra
2:30 – 4 pm: optional salon conversation with Navé
6 – 7 pm: storytelling with Cisco Guevara, official “Living Legend” of New Mexico
Tuesday, April 22
8 – 9:30 am: breakfast at the Hacienda, optional sessions with Navé
9:30 am - 1 pm: group writing session
2 – 6 pm: individual sessions with Allegra
2:30 – 4 pm: optional salon conversation with Navé
4:30 pm: optional visit to the studio of an artist we love
Wednesday, April 23
8 – 9:30 am: breakfast at the Hacienda,, optional sessions with Navé
9:30 am - 1 pm: group writing session
2 – 6 pm: individual sessions with Allegra
2:30 – 4 pm: optional salon conversation with Navé
Evening at leisure
Thursday, April 24
8 – 9:30 am: breakfast at the Hacienda, optional sessions with Navé
9:30 am - 1 pm: group writing session
2– 6 pm: individual sessions with Allegra
2:30 – 4 pm: optional salon conversation with Navé
5:30 pm: optional visit to the studio of an artist we love
7 pm: Closing dinner at Allegra’s house
We encourage you to add a day or two to your visit, so you can experience the riches Taos has to offer: river rafting (serene float or whitewater), hiking (flat or mountainous), museum visits, excellent shopping, terrific restaurants, and historic sites including 1,000-year-old Taos Pueblo, a UN World Heritage Site. We’re happy to help you with suggestions.
Only a few places left! Early-bird discount expires soon!
About Taos
Taos is a legend come to life. Home to Taos Pueblo, the oldest continuously inhabited building in the Americas. The crossroads of cultures for over a thousand years. The inspiration for centuries of artistic expression. A refuge for free spirits. A place where originality is prized and celebrated.
Taos Pueblo dates back over 1,000 years. The Spanish came to Taos before the Puritans landed at Plymouth In the 19th century, artists discovered our magical high-altitude light. The great novelist D. H. Lawrence lived and died here. Georgia O’Keeffe discovered New Mexico here. You’ll visit a house where Carl Jung came to stay.
Our base: historic Hacienda del Sol
Located on the edge of Taos Pueblo, this was Taos icon Mabel Dodge Luhan’s first home in Taos, and also a stopping point for great photographer Ansel Adams. It was Mabel who brought Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stiglitz, Jung, Lawrence, and Aldous Huxley to Taos. We will write in her sitting room, cosy inside its two-foot-thick adobe walls.
Workshop participants receive a discount at Hacienda del Sol. We encourage you to stay in this beautiful B & B and enjoy their lavish, freshly cooked complimentary breakfast!