Write Without Limits: Memoir
A 5-Day writing retreat near historic Asheville, North Carolina
With Imaginative Storm co-creators Allegra Huston and James Navé, November 3 – 7, 2025
Ignite your imagination. Revitalize your spirit.
Imaginative Storm Retreats
A proven method and a supportive group to help you write with confidence, courage, and delight
“After Imaginative Storm, writer’s block is a myth.” — Abdullah Erakat, screenwriter
What You’ll Get
You’ll discover the freedom, power, and originality waiting inside your writing on a retreat that blends deep craft with imaginative exploration, at beautiful Lake Eden Retreat — hundreds of acres of serenity, pure air, fall colors, and intellectual history.
Whether you’re working on a memoir, creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry—or still finding your voice—this retreat will open new doors and help you move forward with confidence, clarity, and momentum.
Daily “Write What You Don’t Know” workshops designed to unlock creative flow and build emotional connection with readers
Daily salon-style conversations led by James Navé, exploring creative technique voice, courage, and imaginative thinking
One-on-one coaching sessions with Allegra—discuss your “real” writing in private with a world-class editor, and come away with renewed excitement and direction
Personalized editorial feedback from Allegra on up to 25 pages of your current writing project (submitted in advance)
New insights, new energy, and a supportive writing community you’ll stay connected to long after the week ends
Plus: a powerful set of tools to take into the rest of your writing life
You’ll learn how to:
Transform your inner critic into a trusted creative partner
Banish writer’s block and generate rich, original work on command
Stretch and strengthen your imagination — so that your writing will consistently surprise you
Return home with:
A renewed writing practice
A body of fresh work
Deep insight into your voice and direction
Praise for Past Retreats
Your Guides into the Imaginative Storm
Award-winning authors. Renowned teachers. Creative collaborators.
Allegra Huston and James Navé bring decades of lived writing experience—from publishing and poetry to performance and personal memoir. Together, they’ve helped thousands of writers find their voice, quiet their inner critic, and write with flow, confidence, and emotional power.
They don’t just teach craft. They teach trust—trust in your imagination, your instincts, and your voice.
Allegra Huston
Acclaimed author, world-class editor, and co-creator of the Imaginative Storm method
Allegra brings a rare blend of literary rigor and creative liberation to her teaching. She’s helped writers from all backgrounds break free from perfectionism and reconnect with the joy of writing.
“As a former Editorial Director of the London publisher Weidenfeld & Nicolson and holder of a Double First in English from Oxford University, I was all about good writing. But when I started writing myself, I didn’t like anything I wrote.
I thought, maybe I just can't write. I was trying so hard to do it 'right' that I lost any sense of what was real and alive in my voice.
The Imaginative Storm method changed everything. I discovered that when I stopped trying to write well and simply let myself splash material onto the page, I surprised myself. That's when my true writing voice began to emerge.
As an editor, I’ve worked with Booker Prize winners, Nobel laureates, and Jane Goodall. But the work that means the most to me now is helping writers — like you — find the spark that makes everything click.”
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 major magazines in the US, UK, and France.
“Allegra Huston is incapable of writing a dull sentence.”
James Navé
Poet, spoken-word performer, and co-creator of the Imaginative Storm method
Navé, who holds an MFA in poetry from Vermont College, brings a lifetime of creative exploration to the page. With roots in performance poetry and a deep belief in the power of imagination, his work helps writers of all backgrounds tap into their wild, true voice.
"I came to the Imaginative Storm method from the spoken word tradition. As a founder of Poetry Alive!, I memorized over 600 poems and performed them in schools across the country, reaching more than 5 million students. I competed in the National Poetry Slam finals, and I’ve hosted the LEAF festival poetry slam for 30 years.
In 1995 I co-founded The Artist’s Way Creativity Camp with Julia Cameron, and those years shaped much of the work I do now. My focus has always been creativity—where it comes from, how it moves through us, and how we can learn to trust it.
The principles that make up the Imaginative Storm method are the result of a lifetime spent exploring how imagination, emotion, and voice come together in powerful writing. What matters most to me is helping people discover that they already have all they need to write something true—and unforgettable.”
Navé’s latest poetry collection, 100 Days: Poems After Cancer, was published by 3: A Taos Press in 2023, and his work has appeared in many literary journals. He has been on the advisory board of the Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF) since its inception in 1995. He hosts the podcast Twice 5 Miles Radio: Fertile Ground for Conversations Worth Listening To and Remembering, where his guests are artists, thinkers, and creators. He has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered and Weekend Edition.
“James Navé and I worked together for over 20 years. His work as a poet, teacher, and facilitator is an important force for change.”
Our work has been featured in
Our Daily Schedule
Day 1
Meet at 4 pm for a welcome reception. You'll enjoy drinks and generous hors d’oeuvres while we introduce you to the Imaginative Storm method. You’ll get acquainted with your fellow retreat participants, and sign up for your one-on-one session with Allegra. We’ll ask you to share what brought you to our retreat, so that we can tailor the retreat to the desires and needs of the group.
Days 2 – 5
8 – 9:30 am: breakfast
9:30 am - 1 pm: group writing session
1 – 2: lunch
2 – 6 pm: individual sessions with Allegra
2:30 – 4 pm: optional salon conversation with Navé
6:30 pm: dinner
This year, our final day is Navé’s birthday, so our closing dinner will be quite a celebration!
Accommodations
Stay on site at Lake Eden Retreat, or choose lodging in nearby Black Mountain or Asheville
Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains just twenty minutes from Asheville, Lake Eden Retreat combines rustic charm with modern comfort. It offers a rare blend of wild beauty, artistic legacy, and serene inspiration—perfect for writers ready to dive deeply into their work.
Lake Eden’s 70-acre property, with three lakes, wide meadows, and forested trails, was once Black Mountain College, one of the most influential arts communities of the 20th century. Writers, poets, musicians, dancers, and world-changing thinkers once gathered here—and now, so will you.
FAQs
-
ot at all.
The only requirement is a desire to write. If you write, you’re a writer—no MFA required.
Some of our participants have never taken a writing class before; others are published authors. What unites them is a deep curiosity—and the joy of discovering that they can write better than they thought possible. Our method helps beginners build confidence and gives experienced writers new depth, direction, and energy.
-
No. This is much more than free writing.
The Imaginative Storm method is not a technique—it’s a full creative system.
In four days, you’ll move from pure imaginative exploration to structured creative form. You’ll learn how to:
Access surprising emotional depth and authentic voice
Use vivid imagery and original language
Develop compelling characters, narrative arcs, and emotional structure
Find the energetic core that drives every great story
We help you write what you didn’t know you knew—and shape it into something real.
-
No required reading. No homework. Just your imagination.
We won’t assign books or offer models of “how to write well.” Our goal is not to mold you but to free you. Every writing prompt is designed to help you discover what you want to say — and how only you can say it.
-
Absolutely not.
The Imaginative Storm method is rooted in appreciation, not critique.
We believe in creating a safe, generative space where your imagination can flourish—where you’re encouraged to take creative risks, not fear them.Traditional writing workshops often rely on early-stage criticism, which can shut down the very spark you're trying to fan. We don’t believe in public takedowns or pointing out what’s “wrong.” Instead, we build your strengths—because that’s what creates confidence, clarity, and forward momentum.
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. Development of your writing is not a spectator sport! Many writers suffer needlessly because they receive negative feedback too early in the writing process.
However, if you want critical feedback on your work, that is available in your one-on-one sessions with Allegra.
-
Yes—if and when you’re ready.
Every participant receives two one-on-one sessions with Allegra. You may submit up to 25 pages of writing (12 pt., double-spaced) one week prior to the workshop.
These sessions are tailored to you—they’re optional, private, and focused on helping your work grow.
-
Not the way we do it.
Praise is the foundation of great editing and great teaching. Without it, how do you know what to build on? How do you know what’s working?
Allegra’s two rules of editing are:
Praise
Ask questions
This isn’t false flattery. It’s a strategy. Praise shows you your strengths. Questions guide you to go deeper. Together, they give you the insight and motivation to carry your writing forward—with confidence.