Meet Dianne McPhelim

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dianne McPhelim a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Dianne, so excited to have you with us today, particularly to get your insight on a topic that comes up constantly in the community – overcoming creativity blocks. Any thoughts you can share with us?

A lecturer once gave us a gift in the form of advice.
Keep everything. The scribbles, the notes scratched on a napkin, on the back of receipts or a used envelope. Write them into a notebook. If they are someone else’s words, or a quote, record who said it. One day, they told us, these random pieces will come in useful.
They were right. Whenever I can’t grasp an idea, I flick through old notebooks, reading fragmented thoughts, opening storylines and overheard conversations, and I always have a lightbulb moment. Often, I remember what I was doing at that time and place I wrote the words: people-watching in a coffee shop, sitting in my car, on a tree stump, or listening to a storm. Don’t limit these notes – that short story might become a poem someday.
It was the best piece of advice I ever received, along with ‘write every day’. Think of it as a rainy day fund. Put some words aside, every day, for when you can’t think of any.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

My most recent project relates to my PhD, researching historical diaries. I was fortunate to receive funding from the Irish Research Council to enable me to investigate the writings of Mamo McDonald, a woman who became, in her own words, an ‘accidental feminist’. Through this research, I’ve been lucky enough to attend a range of events, sharing Mamo’s story, her journey as a traditionally Irish housewife and mother, and how her life changed when she was widowed. Her journey parallels the changes in Irish society, as women gained more agency as Ireland moved through the 20th century.

I have a personal interest in the Gothic, folklore and fairytales, and write about that also. Recently, I delivered a paper at a conference showing my research on the intersections of migrant literature and Grimm’s fairytales. Currently, I’m working on a piece investigating ghosts in Native American and Canadian novels, which I will be presenting in 2026 at a Folklore Conference in Iceland.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

As a working mother, I think organisational skills have carried me this far. An ability to think creatively, or ‘outside of the box’ and never be disappointed when something you want doesn’t happen. It just means something better is around the corner.
I suppose the best piece of advice is not to underestimate yourself.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

Sometimes, usually depending on the time of year, projects will swamp you. My advice is to always do something productive, even when you are procrastinating. If I don’t feel like writing, I’ll cook. One night that extra dinner in the freezer will be handy.
There’s a saying about eating an elephant- one bite at a time. I love a list, so that’s where I begin when I have lots to do, and I take the smallest ‘easy wins’ first. If you can tick off two or three small things, however small, you feel better about yourself, and it gives you momentum.