"Walk the earth (!)"

Donned in an earth-colored suit, a dark brown reporter’s hat, a matching tie, and a gold earring on his left ear, writer and musician James McBride hopped into the Fermanian Conference Center today on a pogo stick while dancing the bunga bunga. After answering a preliminary question by professor of American literature Dr. Karl Martin, McBride described the experience of screenwriting his first novel, Miracle at St. Anna, into a movie, and gave writing advice to the Literature/Journalism/Modern Languages students and professors seated in the room.

“It’s all about characters,” he said. “Characters, characters, characters. It’s all about rewriting. . . . Writing is rewriting.”

McBride said that characters, rather than plots, sell books. In her book on Christian art Walking on Water, author Madeleine L’engle also describes an effect of characters: “We name ourselves by the choices we make, and we can help in our own naming by living through the choices, right and wrong, of the heroes and heroines whose stories we read.

"To name is to love. To be Named is to be loved. So in a very true sense the great works which help us to be more named also love us and help us to love.”

Although he’s never won a major writing award, McBride said that his reward is talking with students. “I want to, by the end of the day, be a blessing to somebody. That’s why God gave me this gift."

McBride honored the role of journalism in developing writing skills. “Journalism forces us to get out into the world and hear people talk, particularly in the west coast, where people drive around in cars all the time.” McBride half-condemned downtown Los Angeles for lacking a pedestrian environment, and then nodded to the atmosphere of walking and talking in downtown San Diego. “Walk the earth (!) if you wanna write. Don’t go to grad school. Do that later. Be a missionary.”

McBride distinguished cynicism from skepticism. "If you stay in journalism too long, you lack imagination, all your creativity comes out of your shoe. . . . It’s important to be skeptical because you can’t be a fool.”

The attendees followed McBride outside before scattering. After autographing one student’s book, McBride dropped the student's pen, apologized, and bent down to pick it up.