While 2026 started as a slower reading year, the later part of Spring and into the summer months have been full of 5 star reads. From medieval history to sci-fi adventures to fantasy romances, I’ve covered a lot of genre-ground in the first part of 2026. Let’s dive in. Le Morte Darthur by Sir Thomas …
Continue reading Reading Recap 2026 – Part 1: Of Medieval Adventures and Time Traveling Coffee Shops
For the last entry in this series, I must address briefly what is at the heart of every story: themes. Depending on whether you’re a gamer or not, you may be wondering: do video games even have themes or a “moral to the story”? And yes, there are, as there are themes to every story. …
Continue reading Novel-Writing Lessons From Video Games: Themes
I’m typically a fairly self-controlled person when it comes to video games. I’m decent at managing my time and turning the game off after an hour or two. But I’ll admit: I’ve had a few 2am gaming sessions, and it’s always because of one thing: getting lost in the world of the game. Exploring Hyrule …
Continue reading Novel-Writing Lessons From Video Games: World-Building
2026 started off pretty rough for me. My season of isolation, brought on by living on my own and struggling to find a sustained, committed community over the first year and a half of my PhD program, compounded into an emotional knot that was difficult to work through. Couple that with feeling defeated and despondent …
It’s time for the next level in this series on Novel-Writing Lessons from Video Games: plots. Many of my favorite games tell compelling and engaging stories: Xenoblade Chronicles, The Legend of Zelda, Kingdom Hearts, etc. Even games that don’t have a storyline, like Mario Kart or Super Smash Bros., have a sense of progression to …
Continue reading Novel-Writing Lessons From Video Games: Plot
Video games have some of the most iconic characters in all of storytelling: Mario and Luigi, Link, Zelda, Pikachu, Master Chief, Lara Croft, GLaDOS—and I could keep going. Many games have you make your own character, projecting a digital avatar of your choice (whether true to yourself or a projection of a role you’d like …
Continue reading Novel-Writing Lessons From Video Games: Characters
The notion that video game storytelling can teach novel writers something is not a new concept to this blog. In the past, I’ve given mini-summaries of different tips I’ve picked up from playing some of my favorite Nintendo games, and I’ve discussed at length about the impact of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 on my own writing, …
Continue reading Novel-Writing Lessons From Video Games: Introduction
Okay, I was shocked to realize that my last writing update was in May 2025. Whoops. But to be fair, life is unpredictable, and as I mentioned in my Thanksgiving Post, 2025 was a hard year. Plus, my other commitments—namely those that my financial livelihood depend on at the moment—took up a lot of my …
Continue reading Writing Update January 2026 + State of the Blog
In 2025, I read 45.5 books. (The .5 is for Le Morte Darthur, which I am halfway through—I started it in August, but sometimes reading medieval literature in the middle of a school semester is not the most leisurely reading experience.) Admittedly, my Reading Recap Part 2 for this year is on the slim side. …
Continue reading Reading Recap 2025 Part 2: Myth, Mystery, & Magic
Author's Note: Here's a short story from the world of The Myth-Keepers, my current fantasy work-in-progress. This is set before the first book and follows the main characters of the series, Matt and Aria. It's been a delight to work on over the past few months, and I'm excited to share a light, humorous holiday …
Continue reading A Merry Myth-Keepers Christmas: Gift of the Phoenix
By Madelynn Orion 