I have no idea what's up with flat tires. They're so annoying. I did not get just one flat tire but TWO. Arg. At least I got some writing done while my car was getting new tires.
My opinion on good writing is that it is dependent on two things: education and natural talent. The analogy in the article about a heart surgeon not being a good writer is false--to be a heart surgeon, you have to be bright and hard working. In a medical doctor's education, somewhere along the way, he has to learn how to write well in order to get where he is*. Even an auto mechanic can be a good storyteller if he has a natural gift at communicating.
The only thing holding up literary "art" is the opinion of critics. If the critics don't love you--even if you get on the New York Times bestseller list--you're "trash."
Nano does not purport to make you the world's best writer after one month. It doesn't even say anything about getting published. It's just about getting that novel done--it has no pretensions about pulling down the literary establishment.
*Admittedly, I am biased on this point. I sympathize with this hypothetical heart surgeon because I am also in the biomedical field as a microbiology grad student working towards a PhD. In my not so humble opinion, many scientists could probably out-write those lit "experts" who do nothing all day except rearrange words.
