Writing about yourself can be challenging – we get it. That’s why our team of writing professionals are here to help guide you along the way.

Once you’ve had your first meeting with the Parentfinder team, your adoptive family coordinator will provide you with a document called the “Quick Start Guide.” This document will be your “holy grail” during the adoption profile creation process. It will detail the steps taken to complete your profile, list all the appropriate contacts and give you examples for how each section is supposed to be written.

However, sometimes the “Quick Start Guide” is not enough. So, today we’re going to give you a couple of prompts for each section that will help get your writing muscles back in shape.

Our Story / About Them Section

Prompt 1: Go back in time to the first month you two were together as a couple. How did you meet? What was your first date like? What was it about your partner that made you fall in love?

Prompt 2: Now that you’ve told a brief origin story of your relationship, lets move to why you’re choosing to adopt. List out three reasons that led you to choosing adoption and then try to weave those reasons together into three sentences.

About Me / Meet X

Prompt 1: If you’re writing about yourself, we suggest doing a body paragraph and then a list. For the body paragraph, you should consider the question “What would make you a good parent?” Then once you’ve answered that question, back it up with a evidence. Think of an anecdote that proves that statement. Example: I loving being spontaneous and active! In fact, just last week when my two nieces had a snow day, I took them on an impromptu skiing trip.

Prompt 2: If you’re writing about your partner, consider what it is that you love about them so much. Is it their loyalty and caring heart? Maybe it’s the optimism and fun nature? Then, like the previous prompt, provide evidence of that character trait. Do this one or two times and then fill the rest of the content out with statements relating that back to being a parent.

Our Home

Prompt 1: When first introducing your home, make a list of three things that make your home a good place to raise a child (i.e. big yard, playroom in basement, open kitchen with big dinner table.) And then use those to build your first paragraph.

Prompt 2: For the second part of this section, concentrate on your neighborhood or community.What is it about where you live that makes it a good place to raise a family? Talk about one or two of these things.

Prompt 3: For the third part of this section, talk about the larger community in which you live. If you’re in the suburbs, you can talk about the bigger city near you and what you enjoy doing there. If you’re in a more rural area, talk about the benefits of that! Like going on ATV rides or Friday Night Football games.

Our Family

Prompt 1: One piece of advice we give everyone is: don’t list off everyone in your family.It just takes up too much space. So for this first prompt, we encourage you to each sit down and write four sentences describing your family, without using any names. Start with parents, then siblings, then nieces and nephews. After you’re done, combine them together and then write one concluding paragraph about how everyone is excited about the adoption.

Prompt 2: If you’re talking about your children in this section, we encourage you to again use the format of one paragraph and a list. For the paragraph think about how you can describe your child in three sentences, and use the concluding sentence to talk about being a sibling to this adopted child. In the list, name off their favorite things or what they enjoy. This is where people get “the facts.”

Traditions and Passions

Prompt 1: If you’re writing about traditions, reflect on your four favorite, family-oriented events of the year. And try to be unique! Everyone talks about Christmas and Thanksgiving, so if you have some fun, wacky tradition for Cinco De Mayo or Memorial Day, then you’ll stand out.

Prompt 2: If you’re writing about passions, reflect on passions that can be shared or passed on to a child. Maybe your passion is some obscure mathematical thing you do for work, but rather than explaining that in detail, just talk about how your a whiz with numbers and look forward to helping a child on math homework, just like your parents did with you! Another good example of this is sports or music. If you’re passionate about one of these things and enjoy playing, then talk about how you’ll share that with a child.

Our Promise / Closing

Prompt 1: To start the closing, you’ll need a transition introduction. Think about how you’d say Thank You For Reading in three sentences and write it out. Okay, go!

Prompt 2: Now, think about four things that you want an expectant mom to know about how you’d raise this child (i.e. will raise to be compassionate, courageous, curious and strong in their faith). Now take those four things and string them together in three sentences.

Prompt 3: Finally, you should consider talking about open adoption, if that’s something you’re interested in. First, think about your limits – what is the farthest you’re willing to go in an open adoption. Then consider how you’ll explain adoption a child. Talk about both of those things in three to four sentences.