"A Turbo-Charged Tour de Force."
Patrick is an experienced public speaker who has been delighting audiences for years. Contact him to schedule a talk at your graduate or undergraduate writing program, special event, or gathering.
Patrick's workshop for writers:
How To Write Fiction That Sells - ever sit up all night with a mystery or suspense novel you just couldn’t stop reading, racing through it, desperate to know what happened next, and at the same time not wanting the story to end? It’s an exquisite feeling. What often goes overlooked is how hard the author was working on every single page to create that experience. In this workshop, Patrick examines the classic dramatic structure, the plotting techniques and even the tried and true gimmicks authors use to build an unputdownable page-turner.
Possible workshops include 1-hour and 3-hour sessions, as well as full-day deep dives. During three-hour and full-day workshops, in addition to the nuts and bolts of writing, there is more time to explore how to approach agents and publishers, and what to expect upon signing your first publishing deal.
Humorous and inspirational talks include:
The Truth About The Writer's Life - a hilarious behind-the-scenes tour of the less-than-glamorous life of the working writer. From getting drunk and vomiting on your shoes at the age of 10, to getting drunk and vomiting in swanky hotel rooms at the age of 35. From 12-hour days at the keyboard to 12 anxious months without writing a word. From rooftop parties in communist Havana to rooftop parties in capitalist Manhattan. Dinner with Beat poet Allen Ginsberg. Breakfast with a Nobel Prize winner. Angry editors. Reluctant co-authors. Incompetent publicists and shady movie producers. Email stalkers. a sex addict. Afternoon tea at the Waldorf Astoria and Ramen noodles for dinner. Patrick takes us backstage and lays bare the inner workings of this mysterious calling.
“Patrick, thanks so much! That’s the first time I can remember a Brown Bag Lecture with so much laughter, and with singing!”
Heather Tiffany
Programming
Brian Sandberg
former National Director
Campus Greens
Patrick has given workshops and speeches, and made appearances at Book Expo America Boston University University Southern Maine