SeverinR
Vala
I disagree also, to a degree.Teenagers can be in college...
College is overrated, live, write, live some more, write some more, keep at it. If college happens in the midst of that, meh, so be it. Drink a lot, heh heh. But hey, college keeps a lot of folks from counting as unemployed in the fed's numbers, LOL.
Wordsmiths need to know how to use the tools of their trade.
I don't think anyone needs a degree. I do think a good study of writing and proper sentence structure is important.
It is like anything else. The more you learn the better you can work the art.
I think maybe if you paid attention in elementary school you might be good. But as I said, the more you know the more you can do.
Story telling is the art, sentence structure is the brush strokes, vocabulary is the paint, understanding the language is the canvas. I don't believe someone with a masters degree can tell a better story then someone with only the right college classes.
They just know more.
I learned only what I had to, to pass the class. I've had to go back and look at all the basics again.
Many famous books are written poorly. So you can write without learning it, but the art is trying to "perfect" everything, so that people won't notice the imperfections.