Carol Cool hails from Lancaster County, and, in addition to sharing editing tips in her Saturday session, she’s excited to introduce attendees to a sweet treat found at a sweet spot just north of the city. We did a Q&A with Carol about her upcoming conference participation.
Hippocampus: We don’t want to give too much away about your session, but please share with us a golden nugget that you hope attendees will take away from your talk that isn’t found on the program description.
I hope that attendees will discover the power of reading through their work multiple times, each time focused on a different editing issue, making their piece stronger.
Tell us who would benefit most from your session and why.
Writers who love to be creative but hate grammar; I don’t use grammar terms that can trip up the average person. Writers simply get techniques that will make their writing cleaner so editors can focus on the meat, not the mistakes.
What is your best advice for attending a writing conference, whether it’s for newbies or veterans?
Write on the back of business cards you receive a quick sketch about the person, like what they write or do, and what connected you with them. You think you’ll remember, but you’ll get so many and learn so much it will all run together. You could end up with a pile of cards that mean nothing to you!
Aside from speaking, what you are most looking forward to about being part of the inaugural HippoCamp?
I have a great deal of nonfiction writing experience but have not done much in the creative nonfiction arena. So I feel like a newbie, eager to learn from the pros, especially because Hippocampus is such an astounding magazine.
What’s on your personal conference agenda? Perhaps share with us a session/event you don’t want to miss.
I want to attend the One Moment Memoir class on flash essays and see what comes out of it.
As a local, what are you most excited to share with attendees and other speakers?
I live in the northern part of Lancaster County, but I am looking forward to extended time in the city, enjoying all the restaurants, Central Market and the galleries. If you get a chance, make the trip to Lititz and the Wilbur chocolate factory for your free Wilbur bud—it’ll be hard to eat a Hershey kiss after that!
Carol, we couldn’t agree more about the Wilbur bud! We’ll see you soon.
