I'm not threatened. I was published by the time I was 10 years old. Nobody taught me to write. The Royal Ballet Examiner told my mother to apply for my sister to join the Royal Ballet when she was 14. My brother was asked to sing when was 7 or 8 years old. It's called innate talents, and neither my brother nor I had any training.

That wasn't my point.

My point is that even if one does have training, if one does not have the natural talent, one will not reach the same heights as someone who does. And the competition is so immense out there, that those without it will never make the world stage. Specifically, there are a mass of writing courses out there that promise that they will teach students how to write.

Each one of those students are hoping to write bestselling novels and make lots of money. I think it's tragic that people are led on to believe that they can achieve something when they can't.

There is a bast difference between learning basic literacy which can certainly be taught. It's quite another thing to write to the standard of a Hemingway - which is what I mean when I use the term 'writer.'