A Different Kind of Writing Exercise

My Book Club is reading Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman.I enjoyed the story narrated by a twelve-year-old girl named Cecilia Honeycutt, but known as CeeCee. She lives in Ohio with a mother who is mentally ill and a father who stays away from home as much as he can. CeeCee is the caregiver to her mother, something no young girl should have to be.

Her mother was the 1951 Vidalia Onion Queen in Georgia and she plays that part until the day she is killed in a tragic accident during one of her mental lapses. CeeCee witnesses her mother's death which leaves a deep emotional scar within her.

CeeCee's great aunt comes from Savannah to offer the girl a home. CeeCee knows her father doesn't want her so she goes to live with Aunt Tootie in a glorious old southern home. The rest of the book is filled with somewhat stereotypical southern women who all become part of the girl's new world. 

The story brings laughter and tears and a great many insights to life and the way we live it. Termed "Both hilarious and heartbreaking,..." the book had me pondering the things CeeCee learns as she meets a bevy of strong, but sometimes strange, southern women. 

In the next to last chapter, CeeCee hears her mother's voice as she is about to drift off to sleep. Her mother's words are It's how we survive the hurts in life that brings us strength and gives us our beauty. I was quite taken with that statement and read it several times. 

It's how we survive the hurts in life that brings us strength and gives us our beauty.

Read the quote several times. What comes to mind? Could it be the beginning of a story? Or perhaps a personal essay? Maybe a poem? 

For an exercise, write something that uses the sentence as either an opening or a closing line.

Or try to develop a character that fits the quote. It can be a child or an adult, male or female. 

We often use photo prompts for a writing exercise. Using a quote like this is a different kind of exercise and might be a lot of fun. Give it a try!

To read more about Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, go here. You'll find a summary, editorial reviews and customer reviews.