Creative Momentum with Meg

Meg Dunley
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Arts
  • Updated Weekly

Creative conversations and mindset coaching. Creative Momentum with Meg is a podcast featuring thoughtful conversations with writers, artists, musicians and performers about creative practice, process, and what it takes to keep going. Hosted by Meg Dunley, a creativity coach, each episode explores the rhythms of creative life—routine, doubt, momentum, rest, and persistence—with people making work across different disciplines and stages of practice. These are conversations about how creative work actually happens: not just the finished outcomes, but the habits, tensions, and questions that shape the work over time. Some episodes are short and focused, others more expansive. All are grounded in curiosity, honesty, and a belief that creative momentum is something that can be nurtured, not forced. Episodes are released weekly and are available in both audio and video formats. Show notes: megdunley.substack.com megdunley.substack.com

  1. 1d ago

    S2E26: Elizabeth Barnett on painting, writing and finding home in creative work

    Season 2: The Home Season Episode 26: Elizabeth Barnett: painter, printmaker and multidisciplinary artist In this episode of Creative Momentum with Meg, I talk with Victorian artist Elizabeth Barnett about building a creative life around family, the seasons and the everyday things that inspire her. Elizabeth works from a studio in her home in the Macedon Ranges, where still life paintings are shaped by collected objects, flowers, branches and the changing landscape around her. We talk about protecting creative time, the Bridge Letters she writes with artist Stacey McCall, Elizabeth's lifelong journalling practice, her recent decision to begin writing a novel, and why knitting has become part of her creative process. We discuss ·       Creative routines and parenting ·       Making time for art ·       The Bridge Letters ·       Journalling and drawing ·       Painting from the landscape and seasons ·       Beginning a novel ·       Knitting and creative flow ·       Finding home in creative work Guest links Elizabeth Barnett: www.elizabethbarnett.com Instagram: @elizabethbarnett The Bridge Letters Creative Practice blog by Elizabeth Barnett and Stacey McCall: www.thebridgeletters.com.au Flinders Lane Gallery: https://flg.com.au/pages/artists/elizabeth-barnett Youtube video about her practice Read the full interview https://megdunley.com/2026/08/26/interviews-with-creatives-elizabeth-barnett/ Listen to Creative Momentum with Meg: https://megdunley.substack.com/s/creative-momentum-with-meg-dunley Subscribe If you enjoy conversations about creativity, writing and the many ways people make things, subscribe to Creative Momentum with Meg so you don't miss future episodes. Music Music for Creative Momentum with Meg by Yvonne Morton. Get full access to Musings with Meg at megdunley.substack.com/subscribe

    S2E26: Elizabeth Barnett on painting, writing and finding home in creative work

  2. Aug 19

    S2E25: Tim Pilgrim on gardens, creativity and learning to work with what you can't control

    Season 2: The Home Season Episode 25: Tim Pilgrim, Gardener Tim Pilgrim is a gardener and garden designer based in Castlemaine, central Victoria. His work focuses on naturalistic, plant-led gardens designed for their particular site and climate. In this conversation, Tim talks about finding his way into horticulture, working at Wimbledon, developing his own garden maintenance business and eventually moving into garden design. But this is also a conversation about creativity. Tim describes gardens as works that are designed through time. Unlike a painting or a piece of writing, a garden continues to change after the designer has finished working on it. Plants grow, seasons change, weather intervenes and unexpected things happen. We talk about why observation matters, how Tim works with clients, why he prefers focused blocks of time, and what gardening has taught him about adapting rather than trying to control every outcome. We talk about - Finding a career in horticulture - Working at Wimbledon - Moving from gardening into garden design - Gardening as an artistic practice - Creating focused blocks of time - Designing a garden from a client's brief - Working with plants and climate - The role of observation - Designing gardens through time - Learning from happy accidents - Australian garden design and native plants - What fills Tim's creative cup - Finding your own voice - Why you should garden before you design Who should listen This conversation is for gardeners, designers and anyone interested in the creative process. You don't need to be a gardener to enjoy Tim's ideas about observation, experimentation, adaptation and allowing creative work to evolve. Guest links Tim Pilgrim: https://www.tpgardens.com.au/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/t.p_gardens/ Book 'Wild by Design': https://www.murdochbooks.com/browse/book/Tim-Pilgrim-Wild-by-Design-9781761500411 Read the full interview https://megdunley.com/2026/08/18/interviews-with-creatives-tim-pilgrim-gardener/ Listen to Creative Momentum with Meg: https://megdunley.substack.com/s/creative-momentum-with-meg-dunley Subscribe If you enjoy conversations about creativity, writing and the many ways people make things, subscribe to Creative Momentum with Meg so you don't miss future episodes. Music Music for Creative Momentum with Meg by Yvonne Morton. Get full access to Musings with Meg at megdunley.substack.com/subscribe

    S2E25: Tim Pilgrim on gardens, creativity and learning to work with what you can't control

  3. Aug 11

    S2E24: Megan Dalla-Camina on creativity, truth and making space for what wants to come through

    Season 2: The Home Season Episode 24: Megan Dalla-Camina Megan Dalla-Camina is an author of four books, a PhD researcher in women's spirituality and feminine wisdom, and the founder of Women Rising. Her creative life began with dance, acting, poetry and writing, was interrupted by 18 years in corporate America, and later flourished through writing books and creating work that supports women. In this conversation, Megan talks about the relationship between creativity and stillness, why she doesn't follow a fixed creative routine, and how her spiritual practice has changed the way she works. In this interview we talk about - Creativity as something deeper than productivity - Why Megan allows ideas to gestate before turning them into projects - Her process for writing four books - How her creative process has changed over time - The connection between dance, acting and writing - Where she finds creative inspiration - The inner critic and the difficulty of beginning - Finding the next right action when you're stuck - Why Megan believes we need to trust and protect our creative ideas - Meditation, walking, reading and stillness as part of creative practice - Why she says truth feels like home Who should listen This episode is for writers and creatives who: - Feel pressure to be more productive - Struggle with the inner critic before beginning - Have an idea but aren't sure what to do with it - Feel stuck in the middle of a creative project - Want to develop greater trust in their creative process - Are curious about the relationship between creativity, stillness and inner listening Connect with Megan Dalla-Camina Megan Dalla-Camina's website https://megandallacamina.com/ Women Rising: https://megandallacamina.com/women-rising/ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/megandallacamina/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/megandallacamina/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megandallacamina/ Read the full interview: https://megdunley.com/2026/08/11/interviews-with-creatives-megan-dalla-camina/ Find Creative Momentum with Meg: https://megdunley.substack.com/s/creative-momentum-with-meg-dunley Subscribe to Musings with Meg: https://megdunley.substack.com/ A special thanks to Yvonne Morton for the music accompanying this episode. You can find Yvonne on Bandcamp and Instagram. Get full access to Musings with Meg at megdunley.substack.com/subscribe

    S2E24: Megan Dalla-Camina on creativity, truth and making space for what wants to come through

  4. Aug 5

    S2E23: Samantha WL Lee on Building a 5am Writing Practice, Curiosity and Writing Bound

    Season 2: The Home Season Episode 23: Samantha WL Lee, Author Samantha Lee is the author of the historical novel Bound, as well as a poet, essayist and former English teacher. In this conversation she shares how a decade of waking before sunrise became the foundation of her writing life, why curiosity drives every story she tells, and what she's learned about trusting both the creative process and her own brain. Meg and Samantha talk about: Building a 5am writing practice around work and motherhood Why consistency matters more than waiting for inspiration Beginning with curiosity rather than plot The joys and frustrations of being a "pantser" What teaching English revealed about creativity and audience Trusting your subconscious to solve story problems Filling your creative cup through galleries, books and journalling The rituals that tell her brain it's time to write Whether you're trying to build a sustainable creative practice, write around a busy life, or simply keep showing up to the page, this conversation is full of practical wisdom and quiet encouragement. Connect with Samantha W.L. Lee Instagram https://www.instagram.com/samanthawllee TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthawllee Website https://www.samanthawllee.com.au/ Book: Bound https://www.westwords.com.au/product/bound/ Essay ‘How it feels when someone scrunches up their face at Chinese food’ https://www.sbs.com.au/voices/article/how-it-feels-when-someone-scrunches-up-their-face-at-chinese-food/mq53dll4i Poems: ‘China Doll White’ https://femasiamagazine.com/china-doll-white/ ‘Neiman Marcus Cookies’ https://femasiamagazine.com/neiman-marcus-cookies/ Read the full interview: https://megdunley.com/2026/08/05/interviews-with-creatives-samantha-wl-lee-bound/ Find all Creative Momentum with Meg show notes and interviews: https://megdunley.substack.com/s/creative-momentum-with-meg-dunley A special thanks to Yvonne Morton for the music accompanying this episode. You can find Yvonne on Bandcamp and Instagram. Get full access to Musings with Meg: megdunley.substack.com/subscribe Get full access to Musings with Meg at megdunley.substack.com/subscribe

    S2E23: Samantha WL Lee on Building a 5am Writing Practice, Curiosity and Writing Bound

  5. Jul 28

    S2E22: Author Lynsey McDonnell on magic, momentum & writing Bailey Street in the spaces between

    Season 2: The Home Season The second season of Creative Momentum with Meg, The Home Season, features interviews with Australian writers and artists where I explore how and why people do their creative work. Episode 22: Lynsey McDonnell, Author Lynsey McDonnell is a Perth-based CFO, mother of teenagers and debut author whose novel Bailey Street was published by Hawkeye Publishing on 23 July 2026. Born in the UK to Irish parents and raised above a pub in northern England before emigrating to Western Australia, she wrote every word of this novel in the stolen spaces of a life that already had a full-time job and two teenagers in it. This is a conversation about how she did it, and why she is completely certain that when the story is right, the magic finds a way. In this interview Meg and Lynsey talk about: – Writing retreats with two trusted friends, and why they gave her half the book and months of momentum each time – Why she never had writer’s block, only a block on her time – Two years of research and craft study before a single word went on the page – The notebook scene that arrived fully formed years before she started, and still exists near the end of the published book – The mid-draft realisation she was telling the wrong character’s story – What the Curtis Brown Write Your Novel course gave her, and why she kept polishing through every rejection – Why home is wherever her people are, and how that became the quiet theme of both her novels without her ever planning it – Whether you are writing in the cracks of a very full life, wondering how long to sit with an idea before you start, or trying to understand why some stories feel like magic and others don’t, this episode will speak directly to you. This conversation with Lynsey is a completely honest look at what it takes to write a novel around a full life. Connect with Lynsey McDonnell Instagram Website Book: Bailey Street Read the full interview: https://megdunley.com/2026/07/28/interviews-with-creatives-author-lynsey-mcdonnell/ Find all Creative Momentum with Meg show notes and interviews: https://megdunley.substack.com/s/creative-momentum-with-meg-dunley A special thanks to Yvonne Morton for the music accompanying this episode. You can find Yvonne on Bandcamp and Instagram. Get full access to Musings with Meg: megdunley.substack.com/subscribe Get full access to Musings with Meg at megdunley.substack.com/subscribe

    S2E22: Author Lynsey McDonnell on magic, momentum & writing Bailey Street in the spaces between

  6. Jul 21

    S2E21: Author Anna Woods on Writing in the Dark, Discovery Drafting + Perseverance

    Season 2: The Home Season The second season of Creative Momentum with Meg, The Home Season, features interviews with Australian writers and artists where I explore how and why people do their creative work. Episode 21: Anna Woods, Author Anna Woods is an Auckland-based author whose debut literary suspense novel LIT was published by Echo Publishing in June 2026. Anna has won the Sargeson Prize and been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for her short fiction, completed a Master of Creative Writing, and spent years writing novels that didn’t get published before landing on the process and the story that finally did. This is a conversation about what that process looks like from the inside and why she has no intention of stopping. While Anna is not strictly Australian, she’s from New Zealand and has deep connections here. In this conversation, we chat about: Anna’s distinctive drafting ritual Why the liminal space between waking and sleeping is where her best writing happens How she types up her longhand the next day as a first-pass edit How she builds a reverse outline in Scrivener and uses Excel Why she came from short fiction Where the idea of LIT came from Why reading memoir author-narrated audiobooks fills her creative cup Why getting out into the world is essential Whether you are trying to find your drafting rhythm, wondering whether your process is the right one, or just needing to hear again that the writers who break through are simply the ones who did not stop, this episode will give you both the practical and the motivational. Anna is warm, precise and completely clear-eyed about what it takes to see it through. Connect with Anna Woods Instagram TikTok Website Book: LIT Read the full interview: https://megdunley.com/2026/07/21/interviews-with-creatives-author-anna-woods/ Find all Creative Momentum with Meg show notes and interviews: https://megdunley.substack.com/s/creative-momentum-with-meg-dunley A special thanks to Yvonne Morton for the music accompanying this episode. You can find Yvonne on Bandcamp and Instagram. Get full access to Musings with Meg: megdunley.substack.com/subscribe Get full access to Musings with Meg at megdunley.substack.com/subscribe

    S2E21: Author Anna Woods on Writing in the Dark, Discovery Drafting + Perseverance

  7. Jul 15

    S2E20: Author Trish Bolton on writing into fear + making the invisible visible

    Season 2: The Home Season The second season of Creative Momentum with Meg, The Home Season, features interviews with Australian writers and artists where I explore how and why people do their creative work. Episode 20: Trish Bolton, Author Trish Bolton is a Melbourne writer whose debut novel Whenever You’re Ready was published by Allen & Unwin in January 2024. Trish came to the novel after decades of writing in many other forms: garden journalism, newspaper features, political essays, academic publications, press releases and a PhD. She never called herself a writer until she had a book. In our conversation, we talk about: How Trish wrote for decades before she ever called herself a writer Why she thinks procrastination is not procrastination at all The experiment that got her first draft moving, why she had to abandon it halfway, and why she is still glad she tried it How the themes in her writing (women, gender, social justice, ageing) find their way onto the page without her setting out to put them there How visibility and voicelessness connect The two pieces of writing wisdom she still gives herself Where the real writing happens · How gardening and writing do the same thing for her Whether you are someone who has been writing for years without quite claiming the identity, someone trying to finish a first novel in a new chapter of life, or someone who needs reminding that the big ideas come away from the desk, this is the episode for you. Trish is warm, funny, searching and completely unafraid of telling the truth about where she is. Connect with Trish Bolton Instagram Website Book: Whenever You are Ready Read the full interview: Find all Creative Momentum with Meg show notes and interviews: https://megdunley.substack.com/s/creative-momentum-with-meg-dunley A special thanks to Yvonne Morton for the music accompanying this episode. You can find Yvonne on Bandcamp and Instagram. Get full access to Musings with Meg: megdunley.substack.com/subscribe Get full access to Musings with Meg at megdunley.substack.com/subscribe

    S2E20: Author Trish Bolton on writing into fear + making the invisible visible

  8. Jul 8

    S2E19: Author, dance teacher & choreographer Lorena Otes on writing memoir

    Season 2: The Home Season The second season of Creative Momentum with Meg, The Home Season, features interviews with Australian writers and artists where I explore how and why people do their creative work. Episode 19: Lorena Otes, Author & Dancer Lorena Otes is a Sydney-based author, dance teacher, choreographer and single mother by choice whose debut memoir Solo Mum by Choice was published by Hawkeye Publishing in May 2026. Her memoir traces her journey through 13 rounds of IVF as a solo mum, told with the same quality that defines her approach to life generally: curiosity, humour and a refusal to let the hard stuff go unexamined. Lorena has a degree in choreography and contemporary dance, spent 15 years working in retail and came back to writing the way she came back to dance: because it turns out you never really leave the things that are home to you. She is one of those guests who makes you feel that a creative life is not one thing but everything, all at once, and that is exactly what this conversation is about. In our conversation, we chat about: - How Lorena writes around a freelance dance-teaching schedule, and why improv movement sessions between writing stints are not procrastination but part of the process - The trick she used to keep her creative life alive during the hardest stretch of the IVF journey - Why she wrote 100 words a day for a full year and entered short story competitions monthly to keep the prose muscle sharp during launch season - What it felt like to discover partway through writing her memoir, that she was a pantser, and how craft books helped her find her footing with fiction - How dance and writing have both been constants through rejection, whether IVF or publishing submissions, and how each form does something the other cannot - What inspiration looks like when you are paying proper attention: seagulls flying low over the ocean, a child picking up stones, a woman at a bus stop with a story that changes everything Whether you are navigating a creative dry spell, looking for permission to keep writing even when your manuscript has to go on hold, or just wanting to hear from someone who genuinely lives creatively across multiple forms, this episode will give you that and more. Lorena is funny, generous and completely unafraid of the big stuff. Connect with Lorena Otes Instagram TikTok Facebook Website Book: Solo Mum by Choice Substack: Lorena Lollylegs! LinkedIn Read the full interview: Find all Creative Momentum with Meg show notes and interviews: https://megdunley.substack.com/s/creative-momentum-with-meg-dunley A special thanks to Yvonne Morton for the music accompanying this episode. You can find Yvonne on Bandcamp and Instagram. Get full access to Musings with Meg: megdunley.substack.com/subscribe Get full access to Musings with Meg at megdunley.substack.com/subscribe

    S2E19: Author, dance teacher & choreographer Lorena Otes on writing memoir
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About

Creative conversations and mindset coaching. Creative Momentum with Meg is a podcast featuring thoughtful conversations with writers, artists, musicians and performers about creative practice, process, and what it takes to keep going. Hosted by Meg Dunley, a creativity coach, each episode explores the rhythms of creative life—routine, doubt, momentum, rest, and persistence—with people making work across different disciplines and stages of practice. These are conversations about how creative work actually happens: not just the finished outcomes, but the habits, tensions, and questions that shape the work over time. Some episodes are short and focused, others more expansive. All are grounded in curiosity, honesty, and a belief that creative momentum is something that can be nurtured, not forced. Episodes are released weekly and are available in both audio and video formats. Show notes: megdunley.substack.com megdunley.substack.com

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