Weekly Writing Circle
A weekly writing group that will change how you see yourself as a writer
The Imaginative Storm Writing Circle is a weekly creative writing group that has been meeting every Saturday on Zoom since April 2021—and many of our writers have been with us from the start. We’re together for an hour, during which we’re actually writing for 10 minutes, Sometimes we describe the session as “writer playtime.” Sometimes we describe it as “yoga class for writers.”
It’s playful, collaborative, and zero stakes. It’s a practice that stretches and strengthens your imagination, hones your skills, and clarifies your writing voice.
Every week we welcome people of various ages and cultures, from all around the globe. So far six out of seven continents are represented—so if you’re a scientist at the South Pole, we’re looking for you!
Many people arrive saying, “I’m not a writer.” A few weeks later—or maybe even at the end of that first session—they start to think differently. You do’t need to be published to be a writer. All you need to do is write.
Our Weekly Writing Circle is a super-simple way to test-drive the Imaginative Storm method, before you commit to anything longer. You don’t need to have written anything, ever, before you click the Zoom link. You don’t need a plan. All you need is an hour and the willingness to let your imagination play.
What Is the Imaginative Storm Writing Circle
More Than Just a Writing Group
Following our writing time, we stay online with whoever wants to stay for a salon-style conversation, exploring craft and technique, and whatever else interests us as writers. Many of our regulars find the most valuable part of the session.
The wide range of knowledge among our participants is what gives this salon conversation its energy. Ideas are explored. Resources are shared. Encouragement and appreciation flow freely.
Usually our salon conversation lasts 30–45 minutes. There is no pressure to stay; we know there are many calls on your time on a Saturday! This is simply a bonus: time to develop our ideas about writing and creativity, time to recharge our batteries by connecting on a personal level.
We developed the thinking behind the Imaginative Storm method in these conversations. Everything we do is informed by the actual experience of those who write with us.
The Saturday Circle operates on a pay-what-you-want basis. Suggested donation is $20 per session. If that doesn’t fit your budget, don’t worry! Everyone is welcomed regardless of ability to pay.
If you miss the donation link during the session, you can click here to contribute.
If we gave you 10 minutes, what might you write about the girl with the rose?
How This Writing Group Works
Every Saturday at 12 noon Eastern Time, writers from around the world Zoom in and write together in real time, following the Imaginative Storm method. Imaginative Storm co-founders Allegra Huston and James Navé, or occasionally only one of us, facilitate the session. We don’t “teach.” We do exactly what everyone else does—the only difference is that we’ve chosen a prompt in advance. (The images from here down are prompts we’ve used in the Weekly Circle.) Here’s how it works:
We explain what we’ll do to any newcomers
We put the prompt up on the screen for 2 minutes, and everyone writes a list of words or short phrases
Each person contributes one item from their list, to build a community list
A volunteer reads that list aloud, which starts your imagination whirring
We write for 10 minutes, using as many or as few of the words on both lists as we want
We go into breakout rooms of 5–7 people and read what we wrote aloud
We come back together and create an “Exquisite Storm” found poem made up of one phrase from each person’s writing
And we’re done by the top of the hour. We then move into an after-chat, for whoever wants to stay on. Incredibly fruitful discussions usually result.
If we gave you 10 minutes, what might you write about tthis bookshop in China?
Why the Writing Circle Works
When we began the Saturday Circle, we had no idea it would be as powerful as it has proven to be. Here’s why.
The democratic structure. We’re all equal: published or unpublished; old or young or in-between; experienced or beginner.
Our open-door policy attracts a wide range of people, which adds excitement and expands everybody’s range.
The prompt and word lists mean that there’s always a starting place.
The 10-minute time frame lowers the stakes. Your rational mind thinks, “How can I possibly write something good I 10 minutes?” So even though the timer might seem like pressure, in fact it takes the pressure off ad gives you permission to play. (Spoiler alert: many people say the write better in 0 minutes than they could in ah hour)
Reading your work aloud to a small, appreciative audience. At first most people are nervous about doing this, and we invite you to just say “Pass” ii you want. But this really is the secret to the Imaginative Storm method. The work is fresh, so you’re as curious about what you wrote as everyone else is curious to hear it. You’re trying to read your messy writing, so any tendency to be performative drops away. Almost always, you like what you wrote much better than you thought you would! This build your trust in your writing voice, and your courage to push your writing further, and your confidence. You FEEL like a writer.
If we gave you 10 minutes, what might you write about Allegra’s stepmother riding a lion? (yes, it’s real)
Who the Writing Circle Is For
This weekly writing group is for anyone who wants to write more consistently, and anyone who wants to explore writing as a creative pursuit. Everyone is welcome—even if English is not your preferred language. We’ve heard people read their writing in languages ranging from Spanish to Kinyarwanda.
You might be shaping a memoir, trying fiction for the first time, returning to writing after years away, or simply trying to build a practice that finally sticks. Writers at every level sit in the same virtual room, and the mix is part of the magic.
Some people take the opportunity to work on an ongoing project. Some people write complete poems. (At least 50 have been published in books and literary journals.) Most of us have no plan at all, and are simply curious about what we’ll put on the page.
If we gave you 10 minutes, what might you write about this vintage hairstyle?
What You Will Get from Our Writing Community
Most writers spend too much time alone with their doubt. The Writing Circle changes that. On paper it is a writing group, but in practice it works like something larger: a weekly creative ritual, a community that learns your name and your voice, and steady proof that the writing life does not have to be a lonely one.
Week by week, the self-doubt that keeps so many writers quiet starts to wear away. People describe the Circle as their happy place, the hour they protect on their calendar, the room where they feel most like the writer they always suspected they were. You are not performing here, and you are not being graded. You are simply being witnessed, which turns out to be what most writers were missing all along. That is what a real writing community offers, and it is exactly what you will find here.
“When you listen to other people read, you get a sense of the incredible breadth of what imagination can do — not anchored in one particular person. We all have the same prompt, the same community, but everybody had a different personal list. You can see how this kaleidoscope spins." — Allegra
What Participants Say About the Weekly Writing Circle
The best case for these weekly meetings are the writers who keep coming back.
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“Whatever the prompt, if I sit with it, let it wash over me, one little spark is all I need.”
— Jon Sun-Love, Taos
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“I’m so motivated now! Off to write.”
— Katrina Leffler, Los Angeles
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“I had a super aha-experience about why I have creative blockage and don’t think I am allowed to be an artist."
— AnnaLene Johnsen, Norway
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“Thank you for another enlightening Saturday!”
— Nancy Cook Kelly, Colorado
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"People are afraid to do something they don't know. So in a way, it's about being courageous enough to go, why not? I'll try it. How many people live their lives like that?"
— Nancy Cook Kelly, Paonia, CO
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"They say food is a great connector—it gets you talking. I feel like these prompts are our food. They bring people together. Best restaurant in town — and you don't even have to make a reservation!"
— Wendy Leve, Chicago
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"We have so many diverse voices. When you're reading aloud to each other, you realize that your voice is okay. It's different, but it's not wrong. That was a big hurdle for me to jump over."
— Wendy Leve, Chicago
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"There's a joy that comes from surprising yourself. It's why I come here again and again. The words that everybody contributes are little portals to things you might not have had in your own repertoire, that allow a blossom to happen."
— Kyle Remiger, Taos
Join the Next Writing Circle on Zoom
Saturdays, 9 am Pacific / 12 noon Eastern Time
All you need is pen and paper, and a way to get online. You will be made welcome.
We start admitting people at 5 minutes before the hour. Please be prompt.
If we gave you 10 minutes, what might you write about this photo of a London Underground station?
Missed a Writing Circle Session?
Every week we create a video based on our Zoom session so you can catch up or do the prompt at a more convenient time. You’ll find nearly 400 videos in this growing archive. We promise these prompts will surprise and inspire you!
Gems from our writers, and the prompts that inspired them
