I personally find creating maps therapeutic, Using programs such as Inkarnate can allow me to visualize my story's flow, direct side quests, develop NPC's and characters and also shape creatures and adversaries that are tailored to the terrain of the story i am trying to portray. Whether it is a basic hand drawn map, a plan of a building or facility or a massive world map encompassing all of your imagined ideas. It can lead you and inspire you to branch and develop your story and timeline to be more engaging and impactful to your readers or players.