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Novelist Bori Cser revealed on the international forum Reddit that *The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim* played a role in his professional debut.
The story of her journey from a diary mod to her debut as a fan fiction writer, and ultimately to becoming a professional author
Cser is a Hungarian-Australian novelist. She made her debut with the young adult fantasy novel *Mirrorwoven*, but it seems her roots lie in *Skyrim*.
According to her Reddit post, in early 2020—during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic—she was not only gripped by an existential crisis but was also overcome with grief after losing her music career due to a chronic illness.
Having lost her sense of purpose and fallen into depression, she turned to role-playing in *Skyrim* as a form of escapism. She says she had no idea what to do with her real life, so she fled into a fantasy existence.
One of the characters he played was a “Breton bard of noble birth who hid his true identity and strove to succeed without relying on his family name.”
After installing the diary-writing mod “Take Notes (SE Edition),” he found joy in fully embodying the character and keeping a diary. Eventually, “writing the diary” became the game’s primary objective, and by rewriting it as a prose novel, he reportedly took his first steps into the world of fan fiction.
By this point, writing had become Cser’s raison d’être, but despite the encouragement of a children’s book author who supported him, his attempt to rework and pitch one of his *Skyrim* fan fiction stories didn’t go well.
However, when she tried writing an original novel that began with a premise nearly identical to that of her first bard’s tale, she managed to secure an agent. Ultimately, the book was published by the major British publisher HarperCollins and, in the United States, by Macmillan.
While this novel isn’t strictly a *Skyrim* story, it was revealed that the game serves as its foundation—for example, the main romantic interest is heavily inspired by the game’s “Chieftain Elishif.” Cser concluded his post by expressing his gratitude to *Skyrim* and its community.
Incidentally, he also expressed his gratitude in the comments section of the “Take Notes (SE Edition)” mod page, to which mod creator ath3nos replied, “I’m very happy to hear that. It’s a wonderful achievement, but I don’t deserve the praise. This is something you accomplished on your own, and you should be proud of what you’ve achieved.”
