Prompts for Writers to Survive Postpartum

Photo Credit: Annie Spratt

I am officially halfway through my fourth trimester. My hormones are finally leveling out, and sleep is (semi) better, putting hope on the horizon.

To help my sanity survive this season, I have been in constant contact with people who make me feel seen and supported, received help for things like nap-taking, household chores, and food, and spent every night coming up with stories for my four-year-old. Our new favorite routine.

It started one night after we tried to figure out a new bedtime routine. Instead of me reading books (which her father does), we settled on making up and telling stories to each other. I’ve enjoyed how creative my four-year-old is. She gives the prompts, and I make up a story. She will then give me critiques so I can make it better for the next time I tell it.

So, I jotted a few down that we got the craziest with:

• Tell a story about going fishing, and instead of pulling up a fish, you pull up something that has been at the bottom of the lake for a long time.

• Start your story by going on a trip to visit a relative, but through a series of events, end up in a completely different location.

• Write a story where you bake something that becomes way too big, and you have to deal with the consequences.

• You get your dream trip to Disneyland, you go, but encounter a clingy costumed actor, and they follow you home. What do you do? How do you get rid of them, or don’t? (My daughter and I used this story as a comedy)

  
  

Any good story ideas come to mind for the above prompts? Any other postpartum moms out there? 🙋‍♀️