Viva Survivor. That’s the name of the preparatory course to get fourth-year doctoral students across the finish line and through their PhD defence. Organized by Nathan Ryder, the former podcast and now online workshop, is designed to calm the fears and anxieties of researchers, and set them up for success. General advice for success I […]

It took me a long time to figure out what a critical reflexive was. When I began my doctoral studies in creative writing, I had (wrongly) interpreted the critical reflexive as an essay, therefore my original attempts after year one were very incorrect. I thought I was supposed to create some kind of academic analysis […]

Yesterday, I had a post take-off on Threads when I said that my PhD is on the liminal qualities of the Canadian highway. I had asked if anyone had taken videos of any highway drives, that I would love to see them. Then, 144 comment later, I found myself with a treasure trove of highway […]

There is a date booked in the calendar. My viva, also known as my PhD defence, is scheduled for January 19, 2026 which is an auspicious date for me because it’s also my grandma’s birthday. Prior to submitting my thesis, I had enrolled in the Viva Survivor course offered by the university which outlined what […]

In one single day, my brain would tell me that a) I couldn’t spare fifteen minutes to shower and b) I was further ahead than I thought. Then, hours later, my brain would convince me that they only way I could edit my novel was using a series of binders, and in fact I needed […]