Creativity doesn’t just make life more interesting — it keeps your mind sharp.

It allows you to be more well-rounded and to come up with solutions that no one else has considered. You can stay creative by exploring hobbies such as drawing and writing.

I’ve been drawing since I was little, but writing has become my greatest challenge yet. I recently completed a 150,000-word book, a project I worked on for more than two years.

To start with drawing, it’s important to realize that whatever picture you have in your head will probably not appear on your canvas, no matter how many times you try.

It teaches you more than technique. You also need to know about yourself as you start with something as simple as stick figures—I began by drawing my Minecraft characters: squares and rectangles. I discovered that it’s easiest for me to start by tracing over something, and that’s the method I still use today with an art program on my computer and a drawing tablet.

The important part to remember here, which also applies to writing, is to be patient. I fully realize that patience is not always easy to learn.

Oftentimes, when your creative juices begin to flow, you’ll start to outpace yourself and get frustrated as to why your drawing, no matter how much experience you have, isn’t turning out the way it should. I have fallen into the pit of trying to finish projects the day I start them, which is often beyond reasonable possibility. As much as I hate to admit it, I’ve been up as late as 3 a.m. on a school night, drawing because I was determined to finish my project.

As you can imagine, the next day didn’t go well for me, so don’t be like me in this regard.

Writing is much the same as drawing, so to avoid backtracking, I’ll give you a word of advice that I learned while writing for years: It is okay to write or draw just for yourself.

Artistic people sometimes feel the need to share their creations, and while I don’t advise against this, dealing with the opinions of other people may not be enjoyable.

I plan to become a published author one day, so I had to get my book into other people’s hands to see how they’d enjoy it. The feedback I receive is invaluable, even though it’s frustrating to change a section that took me months to complete. Most of you will not be interested in making a living off your creations, but what I just said still applies.

Your art and writing improve when you welcome critique. Critics point out issues you may not have considered, problems that require extra creative juices to solve. But—and this is a big but—you can be creative without the input of others and let your creations come to life however you wish, problems and all.

So I invite you, fellow artists and writers: go out and create. Challenge yourself to improve your work one step at a time.

I think you’ll find it useful to have a place to let loose and let your brain imagine whatever it wants. It most certainly has helped me.