but the instructor held back from that a bit, so he was a bit intimidating just because of not being quite as much of a known quantity.

I had quite a few professors with that quality; for some people it's probably a necessity in terms of remaining professional (or maybe that's just their nature anyway?) But it is intimidating, in the same way that performing or speaking to an audience and not being able to hear or see clues re: how they're receiving you or reacting can be. (it took me a while to learn that silence from an audience during the performance of a drama is a sign that they are focused on you. It's disconcerting, but noises from the auditorium would actually signal lack of interest. With comedy though, it's the opposite.)

BTW - could you PM me your email so I can send you any fic for looking over? thanks