Starting Points: One Hundred Triggers for Writing, Journal-Keeping, and Personal Reflection encourages its readers to be journal-keepers who believe that their thoughts, insights, and discoveries are worth recording, then developing, and possibly publishing. Daniel Pelletier has selected one hundred items from his own journals and letters. Many of these are reflections upon Scripture, while others are inspired by experiences. A few poems and creative bits are included. A serious spirituality is sometimes blended with humor.
Starting Points is premised upon the idea that journal-keeping is vital to any serious writer. Journal notes from various experiences in one's life can provide any writer with seed-thoughts and inspiration for later writing projects.
To encourage readers to begin keeping their own journals, each piece is followed by a blank space for response, query, maybe disagreement, maybe a creative take-off (poem, song, article, story bit). These journal notes may be dated (or not) and collected to a file. The author's practice is to have a "Starters" folder, with each file limited to 50 items or pieces. A dozen files, for example, would have 600 pieces to be "mined" and developed.