Can Writing Be Taught?

You bought the books, you took the classes, you even side-stepped your trepidation and joined the local published author's creative writing group. Does any of this really help you span the chasm between a blank page and a completed novel? Or are some folks just born to write, while others are damned to only dream of doing so? The Atlantic.com has a nice bit about this titled, So You Want To Be A Writer. In it, they reference everything from Balzac to Emily Dickinson to Fortune Magazine, all in an effort to try and explain the necessary combination of natural talent and hard work vital to every accomplished piece of writing.