Personally I chose my supervisor over the reputation of the university. It was an easy decision because she's brilliant, highly regarded in our field, I work well with her and she inspires me all the time. There's no way I could've put up with a lesser supervisor for the sake of being at a 'better' uni.

THANK YOU DanT...I get so fed up with reading the horror stories here and remembering how much they once put me off from having the whole PhD experience. When I say the whole experience I mean WITH the socialising that keeps me from going crazy!

I take regular aerobic exercise with stretching before and after and I find that really helps keep my back strong and pain-free when I have to sit at a desk for hours on end.

jouri, that's so mean. But doesn't surprise me.

The Tudors...I haven't seen any of the 2nd series yet but I thought that promo poster of Henry with his hands round Anne's neck was horrible. Although it did convey the horror of what's going to happen to her! It's an entertaining show but I wonder why they've deviated from fact SO much - as a Tudor history nut I really think those events were exciting enough just as they happened! (the marriage of Charles Brandon to Henry's sister for instance...)

It's spooky you should mention Sharon Penman, as somebody else recommended her books to me just today! I haven't read any yet but they're definitely going on the list now, thanks :)

My PhD isn't creative per se - it's in English Literature but as chrisrolinski said, the arts and humanities are imaginative by nature - but I am writing a novel so what you've said about your own creative process is very interesting! I studied creative writing during my BA but I found it didn't work for me nearly as well as simply writing a LOT, finding out as much as I could about the business, forming friendships with other writers and just generally treating it as my job rather than my subject. I'm still intrigued by the idea of a creative doctorate though.

Out of interest, how do you personally distinguish a 'literary' novel from a popular one? I debate this idea a lot with bookish friends.

I say wait for the DVD, Olivia! I really was willing to give it a chance as I'm a huge fan of the book and quite enjoyed Philippa Gregory's 'inventiveness' with the historical facts...but a few scenes in the film had me fuming, and I'm not easily offended.

'Control' was very, very good. Also 'Juno' was really well written, funny and moving.

You're on, Hypothesis!

Seriously, though, I'm not married so I can't claim to have much experience of what the OP is asking, but I agree with the posters who say we can't put our lives on hold for this. We'll be putting it on hold forever! Also, I've got to say that by far my happiest time as a postgrad student was when I was in a long-term relationship and I had that added source of support.

Well done Jojo! Writing up and doing papers - you're proving it to me that it can be done.

*sigh* Wish I had a boyfriend/husband

Cooking IS therapeutic, and exercise is a must! Before I made an effort to be healthy I thought that cooking fresh meals and working out 3-4 times a week would be too time consuming. Now I do exactly that and I'm so much more chilled out and productive - don't get me wrong, with a deadline looming I still get surly but I just schedule a 'break' in which I'll exercise for 45 minutes and make a stirfry...which is also sociable because it forces me into the kitchen and to talk to people! Then I go back to my work full of endorphins.

Olivia, I know what you mean about studying being exhausting! I need a lot more sleep than normal when I'm reading and thinking a lot, and actually get 'study hangovers' where my head and eyes ache and I'm nauseus. People look at me strangely when I use that phrase but studying's definitely the culprit!

As for anxiety, I try to lay off caffeine, and exercise always disperses nervousness/general misery for me.

Congrats Chris, best of luck! Let us know how it goes!

'Your PhD Companion' by Dr Stephen Marshall and Dr Nick Green is fab. It's warm, funny and full of little anecdotes about famous PhD'ers. And it's very reasonably priced on Amazon compared to most of the PhD books.