By Sandra Hurtes

This is the second of a two-part series. Last week, Sandra’s essay reflected her use of writing prompts to find a story she wanted to tell.

I love writing prompts. Someone else’s idea of what to write takes me away from the serious nature of memoir writing, which I’m often involved in. When I get too deep inside myself, I need to take a break and write something else. I recently noticed a course given by Narratively, advertised on Substack, “28 Days 28 Prompts,” $95.00. I was in.

Prompts arrived by email and were also on the Substack page by 6:15 a.m. I love to write in the morning when my thoughts are not yet diffused by a day’s events. Each prompt felt like a gift. As I read, I wondered, where will this ask me to go today? The prompt that generated my essay, “When the tour detours,” had to do with parenting. Readings that explored different viewpoints on the topic were included. In addition, there were two to three suggested entry points.

Since I’m not a parent, and my goal was to stray from memoir, finding my story took a bit of hide and seek. My Portugal vacation came to mind, specifically when I had been in the hotel bar, lost in a sea of parents. As one by one the achievements of kids and grandkids unfolded, I came face-to-face with an issue I often battled. (So much for avoiding memoir.) I have no children by choice and by chance. I have complicated feelings about that, but didn’t feel I had to explain that to the group. Yet, I wanted to be seen. I surprised myself when I spoke up and took the conversation in a different direction—that of being a born and bred New Yorker.

I wrote almost the entire essay in one hour. First, I wrote a draft, edited, then cut and pasted it onto the comment board where my classmates and teachers could read it. We didn’t critique one another. Rather, we pointed out what we liked and related to. It seemed every one of us had found our own way into the topic. In the 28 days, we formed a supportive virtual community.

I discovered I had a lot of untapped material inside myself. I also saw that I could write fast, which I never thought I could. Halfway through the month, I confidently skipped the draft phase and wrote straight on the comment board. I generated a lot of work in those 28 days and am currently turning my third draft into a completed essay. The prompt had to do with vacations. Since Portugal was taken, I sifted through my memories for fresh material and came up in Club Med 1980s…but that’s another story.

©2026 Sandra Hurtes

Sandra Hurtes is a writer and teacher living in New York. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Poets & Writers, Women in Judaism, and numerous other publications.