What do people find when they Google you — an attractive profile on LinkedIn or your own website or blog? Some photos you’d rather your mate hadn’t put Facebook? Or…
Written by Kat Dawes
My name is Kat Dawes and I began my PhD in Creative Writing at Aberystwyth University in September 2010. My course involves writing a novel and an accompanying critical commentary. I have a BA and MA in English Literature from Cardiff University. Following on from that I worked in the IT department of Aberystwyth Uni for a couple of years before travelling, then worked as a writer and editor for a surfing magazine company in Cornwall for five years. When I saw the Creative Writing PhD opportunities on offer so near my home village in Wales, I knew it was meant to be! The course and practice-based research itself is quite new, so it’s an exciting place to be.
Creative Writing: blogging about it
I haven’t found all that many people blogging about their PhD experiences, probably because they’re way too busy researching to keep something else going (here I point to my own…
NUS survey on financial support
The NUS have initiated a large research project which includes a national qualitative survey, a literature review and analysis of government spending, and qualitative research projects commissioned from the students’ union…
Rejection and Re-motivation
I received my first rejection letter for my as-yet unfinished novel last week. A proud moment for any author! Advice to writers always stresses that you will receive many, many…
Reference management and citation software
Back at the start of my first year, a member of Information Services led us through how to use EndNote to collect and manage references and sources, and I could…
Voices in Fiction part 2
After struggling to find my character’s voice, pretty essential for a first person narrative, I have re-written two substantial chapters, and the writing went fast and easily. The voice is…
Hero Worship
My supervisor asked me recently if I’ve started thinking about the critical account to accompany my novel yet. I have, but it’s at the back of my mind at the…
World building with Mind Mapping
Generally, I use a text editor called, er, TextEdit to write on my Mac. There’s nothing but a simple white window, so I have fewer distractions. I found I needed…
The PhD Application Handbook
When I found my perfect course at my perfect institution, I set about applying for a PhD with loads of enthusiasm. But I found the process far from clear, even…
Disposable PhD?
The Economist’s 2010 Christmas Special carries an article entitled, The disposable academic, subtitled ‘Why doing a PhD is often a waste of time’. I imagine the headline and tag-line intended…