Right after his publication, his editor, Kazuma Miki, read Sword Art Online from Kawahara's website and decided to get it novelized. However, it would be too dangerous to be spacing out in the real world, so he made the brain burst setting. He thought it would be neat if people could turn the world into a fighting game just by thinking while in the middle of the street. The concept for “Accel World” came from fighting games. The title was changed to Accel World because people commented the title sounded stupid and lame. Kawahara was successful in winning the magazine's Top Prize, the award goes from Top Prize, Gold, Sliver, and then Bronze, and debuted as a writer at the age of 34.
Although he was required to trim his work again, he was able to meet Dengeki Bunko's requirements. He reapplied because he was inspired by all the works he read from Media Works Inc., such as Tokyo Shadow and Those who Hunt Elves. In 2008, Kawahara decided to write again for the Dengeki Light Novel Award with Kyouzetsu Kasoku Burst Linker. He felt it would be more natural to write about net games. Sword Art Online inspiration came from online games. His work was well received by his viewers which became his motivation to write further including a sequel. “Kunori Fumio” is the pen name that Kawahara used when he wrote the web novel Sword Art Online. However, because of his lingering attachment to his work, Kawahara decided to post it up on his own website. Kawahara didn't have the skills or will to trim it down, so he gave up at that point. Dengeki Bunko strictly forbids bending its rules. Kawahara finished Sword Art Online ( SAO ) in 2002, but he was turned down because it exceeded the page limit by 120 pages. He had no prior writing experience and only read other works. In Fall of 2001, Kawahara decided to apply for the 9th Dengeki Game Novel Grand Prix (Dengeki Game Shousetsu Taishou). Therefore, he started to take up writing. He claimed that he enjoyed coming up with stories instead of dealing with the fiasco in its entirety. Kawahara tried to draw manga but the work became too tedious as manga required too many things to do before getting his idea on paper. Kawahara also played Ragnarok Online, his most played game (although he stated World of Warcraft during Sakura-Con 2013), and Phantasy Star Online. He also started playing online games in 1998, starting with Ultima Online. Kawahara would often head to the arcade with his fellow members to play fighting games.
He drew manga and illustrations during his time there. During his college years, Reki Kawahara was in the Manga Studies Club. Kawahara has two younger sisters, one 2 years younger, another 4 years younger. Reki Kawahara was born in 1974 in the Gunma Prefecture.