Sackett Street Writers’ Workshop

Beware of 1 star reviews that say, «I can’t speak to the actual experience of this workshop.» Ha.
I feel compelled to share my experience with Sackett Street.
I’ve done workshops all over NYC and Sackett is now the only one I come back to. I’m a part of an informal writing group made up purely of former Sackett Street participants. The teachers have generally been through the best writing programs in the country, and you will benefit from their talent, dedication, and networks. I can’t imagine a better organization for someone contemplating an MFA, someone who simply enjoys being around other writers, someone who needs deadlines to get them off their ass and write something, or someone like me who fits the description of all of the above.
That said, maybe I should caveat this review by reminding the public that showing up to a class is, in fact, a prerequisite for having a positive experience.

Sackett Street is one of my favorite things about Brooklyn. I have now taken two workshops (and will soon be signing up for a third!) and both experiences have been really special. The instructors are kind, insightful and feel genuinely interested in helping their students to become better writers. The feedback I got was invaluable. My other classmates in both workshops have all been talented, respectful and really just amazing people in general. I can’t speak highly enough about Sackett. I’ve learned so much and feel like I’ve gained a lot of courage to share my work and passion to keep writing! If you’re looking for an opportunity to hone your writing skills in a comfortable environment with good people, I definitely encourage you to take a class!

I had an incredibly positive experience with SSWW. I’ve taken workshops before, and attended intensive conferences like Bread Loaf and Tin House, and can say that SSWW measures up, as best as a once-​a-​week workshop can. Mine was a very small class, and everyone approached one another’s work graciously, even when giving criticism. The schedule was incredibly flexible, and many participants were able to be workshopped more than twice. My instructor took the time to schedule individual conferences with each student, was always available for questions via email, and even ended up writing me recommendations for MFA programs. I was also able to make some connections with other writers and lovers of literature here in NY — a great start for people with and without prior experience in fiction workshops.

I took the Fiction III workshop with Ted Thompson. I have taken numerous writing workshops over the years, probably a dozen or so, and this was the best. First, Ted put more thought and time into reading and commenting on my work than any of my previous instructors. I found the analysis and suggestions extremely useful, which is also sadly rare in my experience. Next, the quality of the discussion was extremely rigorous and intellectually engaging, thanks in great part to the instructor’s exceptional gift (in my opinion) for analysis of fiction. It was also fun. Ted’s workshop is a resource that any serious fiction writers ought to take advantage of while it is available and open to the general public.

My first Sackett experience was spectacular and inspiring, and gave me the courage to apply to MFA programs. I have one semester left at a highly ranked program in the city, and have been fortunate to win a few merit-​based awards. Looking back on my first workshop with SSWW, I can say that my instructor, Ted Thompson, took everyone’s work very seriously. The feedback I received was insightful and nurturing (without being coddling), and made it glaringly obvious that my intentions, as author, took precedent. The environment was hospitable, and even (dare I say it?) FUN! Our final class took the cake, and still, in all my experiences, takes the cake: we read Dear Sugar’s advice to «write like a motherfucker.»
For those people who are bothered because a fellow writer took offense to a colleague’s work, this seems like a non-​issue to me. If nothing else, that should be taken as a compliment. Better to offend than to bore. Right? We’re in a business that has no scientific method by which to measure the validity of our work. There’s no litmus test here but personal taste. Offend away.
It wouldn’t be right for me to leave out the fact that I did have a slightly less than 5-​star experience in the last Sackett workshop I took, which I ended up withdrawing from. The class was ginormous, but come to think of it, the feedback I got from fellow classmates was thoughtful and generous. However, the instructor seemed less enthusiastic about his responsibilities. Julia Fierro expressed genuine sympathy for me when I withdrew, and offered to switch me into a different workshop. I’m sure that when it comes to hiring writing instructors, the vetting process is not easy. Don’t blame Julia. Blame the instructor. Better yet, confront the instructor. Sap him/​her of everything he or she has to offer. Julia is a terrific diplomat in my experience. I’m having a difficult time imagining her as incredibly inflexible, let alone inflexible sans the adverb which doesn’t do much good as a qualifier and only makes it sound like a personal problem.
SSWW is not a money grab. SSWW is a nexus that brings together talented writers from diverse walks of life and prepares them for the next level. Definitely the best workshop program the city has to offer.

«To get a sense of how successful Fierro has been in realizing her vision of a kinder, gentler workshop framework, you need only scan online reviews by former students. „I’ve taken six Sackett classes,“ wrote one commenter on the Creative Writing MFA Blog. „Yes, six. Although I already had an MFA, the Sackett approach was unique in its combination of rigor *and* support-​that is, extremely close reading and intelligent examination of craft, but no mean-​spiritedness.“»
Having taken five Sackett Street courses myself, I can only echo the commenter’s thoughts. Under the careful ministrations of teachers like Straub, I produced more fiction in two years than I had in my previous twenty. My critical habits developed even as the scathing voice in my head died away. I began to see what I was good at and where I might hope to advance. Not everything I wrote succeeded, but I came to see the bad as a stepping stone instead of as a roadblock. Fierro’s philosophy deserves much of the credit for this. Sackett’s emphasis on craft puts the power in the hands of the writer. In Fierro’s universe, you don’t have to be born extraordinary to earn the label writer, you just need to write, and write, and keep on writing. Thanks to Sackett Street, for the first time in my life I can, in good conscience, call myself a fiction writer.

I don’t know what some of these other reviewers are talking about: the Sackett Street Writers’ Workshop – with it’s cadre of skilled, compassionate, and downright bad-​ass instructors and students – is the best ongoing writing workshop in NYC unaffiliated with an MFA program. It literally changed my life.
When I first signed up, I had never written a piece of fiction. Ever. Fast forward a couple years to now: I re-​evaluated my life, quit my soul-​crushing job, and enrolled full-​time in a top-​tier MFA program in the city (with a full ride and generous stipend to boot).
I also know I’m not alone in this sentiment, and that positive experiences like mine vastly outnumber the negative ones posted here. Take a few concrete examples. At least three of the four students in my first workshop have since left steady paychecks for MFA programs (I didn’t keep in touch with the fourth, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he did, too). I also ran into another «classmate» from a different Sackett workshop at one MFA program’s admitted students reception, where, not surprisingly, many other students had taken workshops with Sackett as well.
What these anecdotes indicate is that the *students* in Sackett workshops are just as impressive as the instructors. They take creative writing seriously, give thoughtful and constructive feedback, and are damn talented. Any program can boast about faculty achievements, but few attract the caliber of student that SSWW does.
If you’re going to take a writing workshop in New York, take Sackett. Hands down. Then get the hell off the internet and start writing.

Julia Fierro is incredibly inflexible with regards to her students needs after you’ve handed your check over (but unsurprisingly quite nice ahead of time). Be warned!
In my case, I registered ahead of time, paid the entire fee ahead of time, and only attended one session before I realized I would be unable to take the class due to work constraints. I asked Julia if it would be possible for me to receive (not even a full or partial refund) credit for a future class, and she blatantly refused in a righteous tone, stating that I had taken a seat away from another student, so I wouldn’t be able to receive future credit. I was disappointed in the way Sackett handled the whole affair and its lack of respect for its customers.
I can’t speak to the actual experience of this workshop, but if there is any possibility of unforeseen events in your life requiring flexibility, know that you will get none from Sackett.