Today my guest is Kay DiBianca, and she makes me tired just reading what she does.

Kay DiBianca is a former software developer and IT manager. She has run four marathons, fifteen or so half-marathons, and lots of shorter races. Kay is retired and lives in Tennessee with her husband, Frank.

Visit Kay at kaydibianca.com.

Here’s what goes on in Kay’s mind as a writer:

If I could give you one simple thing to enhance your creativity, would you be interested? Good. I thought so. I’ll get to that in a minute.

But first, let me introduce myself. I’m a runner. I’ve spent decades running on trails, at the track, or in the neighborhood. And as I ran, I enjoyed devising stories in my head, even though I never thought of myself as an author.

One of those stories was so persistent in occupying my running time that I decided to write it down just so it would stop bothering me. That story turned out to be my first novel, The Watch on the Fencepost, to be released later this year by CrossLink Christian Publishing.

As I was busy working on the book, I began to wonder if the very act of running was somehow related to my desire to write a novel. We’ve all heard of the benefits of aerobic exercise to strengthen our bodies and reduce stress, but could it do more?

Recent studies reveal some surprising results. According to a 2016 online article in Quartz by neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki, exercise encourages the growth of cells in the hippocampus area of the brain. And research has shown the hippocampus is important in enhancing long term memory and even possibly – listen to this, writers – creativity. Dr. Suzuki writes that “… this discovery suggests that exercise might be able to improve the imaginative functions of the hippocampus …”

So there it is. Want to be more creative? Run. Or walk. Or do some kind of exercise to get your brain moving along with your body.

Be strong and write well!