My Personal Curriculum: Fall/Winter-ish 2025

My friends, I fear I have been influenced. Or deinfluenced. Or rather I have been influenced to deinfluence.

I have been actively trying to simplify my life, and live intentional. Change really affects my moods and my chronic illnesses do much better when I have routine and structure. But I generally behave like a little chaos gremlin, resisting my self-imposed routines. I never had this problem when I was actually studying in high school and college. The structure and routine of school was something I really loved and enjoyed.

Can I let you in on a little secret? I really struggle to write. There are so many other distractions that it takes a lot of effort for me to sit down and add pages, or even to research. Then I scramble to meet my own deadlines to submit to my editor.

I know its been a TikTok trend, but I only have the clock app to watch booktok drama. I missed the first wave of videos, only to stumble upon the idea of a personal curriculum on Instagram. Then I went straight to Youtube and researched this phenomenon. I fell in love with the idea immediately. I have yammered on and on about it with my husband. Part of becoming a writer in the first place was to design the life I wanted. But all too often, I stand in my own way. I neglect hobbies that I enjoy and books sitting on my virtual shelf for doomscrolling and distraction.

A personal curriculum is a kind of life reset and guide. For a season at a time (or longer) you choose a few topics to research and enjoy. The idea is that the personal curriculum activities will take the place of your phone habit.

I personally am following along with Alice Bow's Build Your Life Curriculum for September. Out of all the personal curriculum content out there, I liked hers the best because it's the most freeform. I built my curriculum out in detail, but I'm a former academic and was going to treat it super seriously anyway. But Bow's plan stuck with me. Choose three to four topics, this includes at least one elective, but keep it simple. These could range from financial literacy to bird watching. Some of the topics should relate to your "real" life work with electives being for your hobbies and mental health.

I planned my personal curriculum around topics that I need to research anyway for my novels and hobbies that I'm currently enjoying. I figured the barrier to entry would be easier that way. In addition to the historical texts I'll be studying, I wanted my fiction reading to be thematic as well. These are books that have been sitting in my TBR for ages or were available through the library and/or Kindle Unlimited. I did buy a few, but that was to include a diverse set of authors and genres. I included writing craft and physical fitness in my plan as well. This resulted in 4 "courses" of study for the season, which based on the timing is mid-September to the new year. I have a set of Youtube videos, movies, and TV shows to accompany the research texts, which you can find in my full curriculum here.

Course 1: Spooky Season

As I wrote Moon Dance, I ended up putting more real-world influences in that I thought I would. Since I write paranormal romance, I figured I would take a deep dive into the characters that are the bread and butter of PNR: werewolves, vampires, and witches.

Topic 1: Werewolves

Research Texts

• Wagner, the Wehr-Wolf by George W.M. Reynolds

• The Book of Were-Wolves by Sabine Baring-Gould

• The Werewolf in Lore and Legend by Montague Summers

• Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse

For Fun

• Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison

• Then, Earth Swallowed Ocean by Shiloh Sloane

• Blood Moon by Britney S. Lewis

• Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

• The Wolf King by Lauren Palphreyman

Topic 2: Vampires

I broke this up into two sequences: one all about Dracula and one about vampires in general

Research Texts

• Dracula by Bram Stoker (this is not the edition I have, but I cannot find my edition anywhere!)

• The Vampyre by John William Polidori

• Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

• The Vampire: Origin of a European Myth by Thomas M. Bohn

• American Vampires: Their True Bloody History from New York to California by Bob Curran

For Fun

• Lucy Undying: A Dracula Novel by Kiersten White

• Black Silk by Letizia Firmani

• The Poisoner by I. V. Ophelia

• So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison

• Mistress of Lies by K. M. Enright

• An Education in Malice by S. T. Gibson

• Woman, Eating: A Literary Vampire Novel By Claire Kohda

• The Warlord Wants Forever by Kresley Cole

Topic 3: Witches

Research Texts

• Book of Ceremonial Magic by A. E. Waite (he of the RWS tarot)

• Magick in Theory and Practice by Aleister Crowley

• The Malleus Maleficarum of Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger by Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger

• In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial by Mona Chollet

• Rebel Witch: Carve the Craft That's Yours Alone by Kelly-Ann Maddox

• The Dabbler's Guide to Witchcraft: Seeking an Intentional Magical Path by Fire Lyte

For Fun

• Cackle by Rachel Harrison

• The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven

• Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

• Witchful Thinking by Celestine Martin

• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Re-read)

• Gifted and Talented by Olivie Blake

Course 2: Writing Craft

This course is much simpler with a few books and videos on reading and writing craft. I did not take any creative writing or fiction reading courses in college, so I'm trying to fill in that gap. I also think that writing is a craft that needs to be practiced to do well. I chose one book on reading deeply, one on practicing writing with exercises, and one on the business of writing (because shocker, I also didn't take any business courses).

Topic 1: Reading Deeply

How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C Foster

Topic 2: Writing Craft

Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly by Gail Carson Levine

Topic 3: Getting Down to Business

The Business of Being a Writer by Jane Freidman

Make Art, Make Money: Lessons from Jim Henson on Fueling Your Creative Career by Elizabeth Hyde Stevens

Electives:

Course 3: Soups and Sourdough

I've been posting on socials about my sourdough adventures. I have celiac disease and can't eat gluten, so good bread is hard to find. I made a sourdough starter a couple months ago and having been eating really awesome bread since. I love baking and cooking and this will be the perfect time to master some unusual loaves and yummy soups.

Course 4: Run, Baby, Run

As much as I love hiking and biking, I am quite sedentary by nature. I will want to focus on getting outside more and getting some endorphins in the process. I'll be doing your basic 9-week couch to 5K. A friend who actually runs suggested listening to audiobooks or podcasts while running as it makes it go faster for her. You can find my full training plan and the podcasts I'll be listening to in my personal curriculum.

Ideas for Future Study

I'm already thinking about ideas for Winter and Spring. I wanted to do a unit on Death this time around, BUT I think I'm going to do a course on Victorian Spiritualism and Death would fit better there. I also think I might do a deep dive into the Brontë sisters. I was going to do a full Gothic Literature course, but I love the idea of the sisters' lives and their books and subsequent adaptations.

For Spring, I'm looking at Irish Folklore and Fairies. This ties into the Blood Pack Book 3. I also want to get into Classical Music and Opera (which would also count as research for a set of novellas set in The Towers universe).

Are you doing a self study curriculum in September? Do you like the idea of a personal curriculum? I'd love to hear what others are doing as I find this so fascinating and fun.

You can find my Fall 2025 curriculum here. I'll be updating my progress with blog posts and reflections, so stay tuned.