Name: Paul Sims
Major: Adult Education
Year: Second year master’s degree candidate
What do you like doing
best in your spare time? I like to hang out with my wife and daughter. We laugh
a lot and have a great time more often than not.
What’s the best advice anyone
has ever given you about writing?
“Don’t self-edit.” – Alice Sullivan, a book
editor I know. I think this advice can be applied in just about every form of
writing when you are just trying to get words on the paper. Don’t second-guess yourself
at the start. Push past the fear and say what’s on your mind and heart. Let the editing take place later.
What has been the most
rewarding part of your job at the Miller Writing Center?
I truly love “light-bulb” moments – times when clients begin
to catch their own mistakes, or make some other form of improvement without my
direct guidance.
Is there anything challenging about your job
in the Writing Center? If so, what is it?
Sometimes, it’s letting go when I don’t think I got through to
or connected with a client; I’m left wondering if there was something more I could have
done.
When and where do you
work at the MWC?:
I work in the Learning
Resources Center in 3408 Haley Center from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and
Thursdays.
If you had a super power
that you could only use in the Writing Center, what would it be and why?
Like Spider-Man shoots
webs, I would like to turn up my wrist and sling a net of confidence over my
clients; not so much that they become impossible to live with, but just enough
to get them over their most common and damaging fears, and it would liberate,
not shackle.
Any good music
recommendations?
I’ve been a longtime fan of
the Canadian rock trio Rush. I deeply admire their professionalism,
craftsmanship, and integrity. They frequently test the limits of their own
creativity and skill. They can do this because a long time ago, they let the
world know they would not compromise who they were and what they wanted to do. “Permanent Waves” is a great starting album.
- Paul
