S2E11: Debut author Kerry Jewell on writing dark humour

Season 2: The Home SeasonThe 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 11: Debut Author Kerry JewellKerry Jewell is a nuclear medicine physician and writer based in Melbourne whose debut novel, A Little Unwell, is a darkly funny look at life inside the Australian hospital system. Kerry began the book in 2015 during a night shift, venting a bureaucratic frustration into a Word document she almost never opened again, and finished the first complete draft seven years later. Her first three chapters were shortlisted for the Richell Prize in 2020, and the book is published by Hachette. She is also, it turns out, a genuinely funny person to talk to at an early hour of the morning.In our chat, we discuss- Why so many doctors end up as writers, and what medicine and creative work have in common- Dark humour in medicine: why healthcare workers rely on it, and why Kerry was surprised to learn hers was dark- Kerry’s deliberately routineless approach to writing and why attempting a routine makes things worse- The car as creative space and how a one-hour commute does more for plot and character than sitting at a desk- How the book moved from vignettes and loose notes to a complete manuscript across seven years- Why Kerry chose fiction over non-fiction to tell these stories, and what fiction allows that non-fiction does not- The connection between creative practice and showing up well at work and for patientsWhether you are a writer who has been sitting on a half-finished manuscript for years, a creative person trying to balance a demanding day job with the work that feeds your soul, or someone who simply needs permission to stop trying to have a routine, this conversation is for you.Kerry is warm, funny, and bracingly honest about the messiness of the creative process, and her story is a good reminder that the gap between venting into a Word document at 2am and holding a published novel is mostly just time, stubbornness and a willingness to let the work find its shape.Connect with KerryA Little Unwell https://www.hachette.com.au/kerry-jewell/a-little-unwellWebsite https://www.kerryjewell.com/Substack https://substack.com/@drkerryjewell/notesInstagram https://www.instagram.com/drkerryjewell/Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/drkerryjewell.bsky.socialFind all Creative Momentum with Meg show notes and interviews: https://megdunley.substack.com/s/creative-momentum-with-meg-dunleyA special thanks to Yvonne Morton for the music accompanying this episode. You can find Yvonne on Bandcamp (https://yvonnemorton.bandcamp.com/) and Instagram.(https://www.instagram.com/yvonne.morton/)Get full access to Musings with Meg at megdunley.substack.com/subscribe Get full access to Musings with Meg at megdunley.substack.com/subscribe