Keeping a personal journal can be challenging because many people tend not to think of their lives as interesting. However, sometimes all that is needed is a shift in perspective. Write about an ordinary day in your life as though you are describing it to someone from a culture nothing like your own. Capture the emotions about different experiences, what you like and what you would change about your daily routine and the significance of the different activities that you perform.
Argumentative essays are often assigned for school papers or undertaken by professional writers. In their book "Crossfire: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader," authors Gary Goshgarian and Kathleen Krueger recommend by beginning with a journal entry answering the question, "What makes you angry?" Jot down three or four items, choose one and free write in your journal to get the ideas flowing. The results may be as serious as discussion of public policy debates or a lighthearted rant about the inconveniences of traffic and poor cell-phone etiquette.
Sometimes, all a writer needs to get started is a little momentum. Start by choosing a favorite novel or story collection from your bookshelf and copy the first line into your journal. Use that line as a starting point to craft your journal entry. You might end up with an idea for a story, a personal recollection or a piece of creative non-fiction exploring an issue or topic in greater depth.
People want to connect to historical figures for many reasons. Literacy experts Richard T. and Jo Anne L. Vacca suggest that history and humanities teachers use a journal warm-up to lead into a lesson on a historical period or person. They suggest having students take the perspective of a person witnessing a historical event, creating a character and describing her experiences. For students, the activity helps them to activate what they know about history and understand the human element, but even seasoned writers can benefit from warming up with a similar topic for free writing, generating ideas for fiction or developing new perspectives on historical events.