They're Making A Borderlands Movie & I'm So Stoked

So I just found out Lionsgate is making a Borderlands movie and I am really really excited about it. In fact, I am beyond excited.

I am a happy fire. Stoked.

I have effin' loved this game ever since my friend, Skylar introduced me to Pandora a couple years back. (Check out Skylar's geek-centric YouTube channel here: FluxElectro Geek Base) The lore is rich, the story is compelling, and the whole setup feels so wow. Everything about the universe is just amazing.

Who's gonna' play Moxxi? I mean, you gotta' have Moxxi in a Borderlands movie.

Hopefully, they'll do good in terms of story and the general execution of the Borderlands universe and lore. This is a perfectly well-made universe just handed to the people working on it, and if they fail to make anything less than terrific, then they don't know what they're doing. Nobody knows what they're doing. They're not doing it right. (Just casually loading on the pressure here)

Will they be following the Handsome Jack storyline? *gasp*

So I'll be keeping my fingers crossed while keeping an eye on what the press are saying. As of now, I can't wait to hear about the casting. Now let's just start that anxious waiting.

Huge possibility that this guy's gonna' steal the show.

P.S. - They have got to get David Eddings to voice the Claptraps. #OneTrueClaptrap

It's Scary Being a Writer

Okay. Maybe 'being a writer' isn't exactly a particularly scary thing. There's no real risk to life and limb, so it's one of the least life-threatening jobs out there.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that being a new writer is a scary thing. Particularly at that point when the future of your lovingly-crafted manuscript isn't clear. You've got so much hope for it, but you can't see what's lying ahead.

Yes, my novel's in the final stages of being edited/rewritten, which feels like a great personal achievement to myself. Even if nobody else thinks the same thing. And I've got to say, the past few months when all my attention was focused on writing, I was feeling pretty comfortable with my little setup. But when the manuscript started nearing completion, things started getting scary. Rationally, I know that there isn't anything to really be afraid of. But there's just so many things to worry about when a small part of you is actively looking at things that might go wrong. That worries me.

I like to think of myself as an optimist. I try my best to be hopeful about the things I get myself into. But when I think about looking for an agent and finally trying to get published, it scares me. The horrible voice in my head asks all sorts of awful questions that really get me freaking out. 

Is the novel too short? Is the writing the best I can make it be? Will the agents and publishers like this?

I would have no problems answering these questions if it were anyone else worrying over them. I know that a novel's length is technically a subjective thing. There's no fixed rule. I know that I will never be satisfied with the writing, and I'll always find a way to make it better. Even if the change is tiny, I'd find fault with it somehow. And I also know that different agents and publishers will like different things. Because at the end of the day, they're people and that's how people are!

But as a writer who's editing the story he's painstakingly put together for months (technically years), it's still worrying. I'm slowly getting a grip though. Even now, writing this is helping me get this load off my chest, and I can hear that hopeful voice in my head again. It knows that there's an agent out there who will love to represent me. It knows there's a publisher out there who would love to print my book. And it knows there would be readers out there who would love my book.

So for now, I'll just have to finish up this manuscript. I'm happy with the story I'm trying to tell. I'm happy with the work that I've managed to do, and continue to do. I've just got to keep at it, and pray for something good to happen.

P.S. - I swear I'm not mentally ill. The voices in my head aren't telling me to rob a bank or kill a man or anything.

P.P.S. - If you're feeling the same thing that I am (gut-wrenching fear over the future of your work) I'd love to hear you out in the comments below.

Cheers, everyone. Thanks for reading.

On Bigotry & Religion

Yesterday, a friend of mine got me to do a survey on religion for his school project. I ended up going overboard and wrote three paragraphs for Question 3, which basically asked whether religion made the world better or worse since so many things are allegedly caused by religion (i.e. religious wars, inequality, etc).

"I'm not a very good Christian." - Sookie Stackhouse

Now first off, I don't think of myself as a particularly religious person, kind of like how Sookie Stackhouse might see herself. I'm not what some people would consider 'a good Christian'. But what I do know is that I try to be a good person. I know I don't always get it right, and I can be really really mean under certain circumstances. But most of the time I try to be kind and compassionate. I try to be as pleasant a person as I can. I do try.

How I basically react to a lot of people.

From what I can tell, there are good Christians who are good people, and then there are Christians who are bad people. Though for the latter group, I'm not sure what kind of Christians they are but I don't really hold them in high regard. These are the people who would spout hate based on what they have interpreted from the Bible. These are people who go about saying horrible things in the name of religion. I personally believe these people should be stopped cause they're giving the religion a bad name, but that's another topic for another day.

A couple days ago, some people close to me said some really prejudiced, bigoted things regarding an LGBT topic. It was so frustrating because you can't really debate nor discuss anything with them in a decent civilized manner. They are ridiculously stubborn, and there's just no point of really having that conversation regardless of how you approach the matter because they will frustrate you until all you want to do is sigh.

What I really want to know, is why is there all this hate and condemnation? Where did you people find in the Bible where it was okay to go around calling people sinners just because of what their religion is or who they love? If I'm not mistaken, that actually makes you a sinner and a dick.

When dealing with people, I personally try to follow 2 very basic rules, so simple that kids will have no problem understanding them at all, but somehow adults face such mind-numbing difficulty grasping them.

• The Great Commandment - Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
• Matthew 7:1 - Do not judge, or you too will be judged.

Tell 'em, Jesus.

Think about it. How would you feel if your family, friends, and loved ones were the targets of hate and bullying? It's actually a very simple question with a very straightforward answer: You wouldn't like it. You would feel angry and offended, and that a great injustice has been committed. It's not a nice feeling when people hate on you for whatever reason. Even more so when you have no say in the matter.

I'm not saying I hate bigots. I don't like them, and they fill me with such frustration. But I don't hate them. They're human, and they make mistakes, so I forgive them for that. Hopefully one day they'll figure out why it's not okay to be a dick.

So why not stop being mean and nasty for a change, and just look to each other and say, "I'm okay with you, and I love you as a person." Let's all just try to be good people who are good to each other. Cause I know at the end of the day that's one of the most important things you could ever do.

Once Again, We're Back to This

It's been about a year since the last blog post I've written, and now I'm starting over from scratch. For what I think is the third time? Fourth? I can't remember.

Things are a lot different now. I finished college last year and now I have a Diploma in Mass Communications, which means I can get a job in the media and try to sell you things. And other stuff but mostly it's about selling stuff to you. The masses.

I actually didn't go to my graduation because they wanted us to pay for the event. Heck no.

After graduating, I worked for about a year at this company I did my internship at, but that's over now. I closed that chapter because it wasn't right for me, and I wanted to study some more. So that's that.

I'm now waiting for university applications to open, which means I have some extra time on my hands. That time is being used on a personal project. Specifically a manuscript for a book I've been writing in my head ever since three to four years ago, but never had enough time to really make it work.

"Ah, yes. Perfect time to kill this character."

I'm now on Chapter 17, 33,200 words in (halfway point), and slowly working my way towards finishing it. The progress is sometimes slow, other times it just pours out of me, but progress is progress and that's good enough in the long run.

Now I'm back into blogging, because this reporter asked if I post my work online and now I feel like giving blogging another shot. Maybe now that I actually have some time to spare I won't just leave this here till next year.

I'm Jake Lo, 22-year-old writer working feverishly on his first official manuscript, taking breaks to play video games on Steam, and to sometimes write here, talking to you. Hope I'll stick around longer this time.

I don't usually look this creepy in real life. I'm actually a lot more creepy.