Taa-da! Now to main event of this evening...

I suppose that since I failed to respond to the last post that I'll make up for it here- maybe; however that means this will most likely be a long rambler of a post. Please bear with me and now on with the show!
There are quite a few things that I wish I'd known when I first became a tutor, but at the same time I wonder if these things would mean as much if I had known them implicitly as oppose to discovering them through trails and tribulations. It would have made things easier in some sessions, true, but maybe without my experimentation to find the "right" way I would have missed some of the success I had or screwed things up beyond repair- I just don't know to be quite honest. If I had to pin it down to one thing I suppose it might be just knowing that business done well and promptly is all fine and dandy but liveliness, personality, and not being a tone/grammar-stiff is a much better. Everyone (student, tutor-i.e. me-, and writing center muses) all work with a greater degree of efficacy with casual conversation or lively banter. I know now that even with just twenty minutes at my disposal I can manipulate chit-chat and pop culture into lessons, and its just been a world of help. One such occasion was with a FYE student and a paper full of exclamation marks. I asked if she watched Seinfield at all, she did, and we chatted about our favorite moments then...Me: "Did you see that episode were Elan broke up with her boyfriend because he didn't use an exclamation mark on the note with the baby, and she then rewrote his entire manuscript in exclamations points? 'He put on his sweatshirt!!' Well here its kind of the same..." It just worked so much better then saying something about not using too many exclamations, and was really fun. True such systems don't always work but point me out a system that's fail-safe and I'll revise my tactics.
Still, I don't think this moment or any others would have the greater meanings they do now if I'd known then. Perhaps you can tell I don't enjoy these kinds of questions because on one hand they frustrate me and on the other I don't understand how or why they matter. What's done is done and I'll use what's been done to improve- so why the fuss over wishing I could have known something in a situation/time were it just may have been impossible to know and is certainly impossible now to fix in that way of going back. I must admit though I feel slightly sorry for students who had me innately in the "business first, holiday (if possible) second" mode of operation. Poor chaps...
Today Jacie and I were having a very interesting conversation about one of the unexpected results of being a writing tutor: Ripping apart previously loved books because, while the ideas still hold meaning, now with a greater understanding of the process of writing there is a terrible desire so re-write much of what's been written. Of course, it works the other way around too. I always loved Neil Gaimen but now that I know how he does what he does and why I absolutely worship the man. I also think I could successfully take a leaf out of Papa Joe-Joe's book and start a tax exempt religion to Gaimen but that's neither here nor there. How about it? Who wants to be the next member in the Cult of Gaimen? Step up now, don't be shy, no shoving or anything of that ilk. By the way Jacie, I didn't believe the spell checker for one instance when it tried to tell me you ought to be called "Jackle" instead.