good writer

Actually, you don't need either of those things...you just need a story, which means some sort of inspiration. Not to mention some skill with the language you're using. Since inspiration can be given from anything, for anyone, this literally means that ANYONE can become a writer.

Degrees can't make you a writer; they can at best polish your grammar and punctuations. To be a good writer, you need to be a sensitive person with meticulous sense of observation. And then you need an ability to put your observations into words, very accurately. After you have these two skills, try developing your creativity and imaginative faculties. In fact, you need an awakened mind -- that will give you everything. You may get some pointers at my website.

While it is possible to learn some elements of writing from others, the best writers are those with an innate ability to synthesize things around them and try to come to terms with how things are the way they are.

I think a good writer is someone who reads a lot. By reading from the classics to dime store novels, you'll discover what's good and what's not. You also need to be observant.

well friend to be a good writer you must have a knowledge on what you are writing. You don't have to be a bachelors degree holder in order to that.

well, to me a good writer would need to start with: 1: a good imagination. 2: good command of the language you're writing in. without either of this, i feel that it would be difficult to make your readers easily understand what you're trying to say..

It's a mixture of the two. It's hard to write correctly if you've never had a class unless you're really talented, which most people aren't. I think you should at least join a critique group. You can find them online or in person. However, it's equally difficult if you've never done anything except stare at your computer. Balance, as it is with everything, is the key to being a good writer.

The writer needs to be able to write in complete thoughts and hold an audience's attention. Depending on the subject matter, there may need to be research material added to the storyline. A solid foundation in grammar and sentence structure is needed. Depending on the person's education, this foundation could be learned somewhere in grammar or high school. Is it necessary to have a college degree to write? No, but it does make you more of a credible author. Some educators will not consider the book scholarly work unless the author has a PhD at the end of his/her name. A great writer knows the subject that is being discussed.

I think you need to read alot and remember the rules of writing that you learned in school. I think most sucessful writers are probably college graduates but I don't know that all of them are. I think talent is probably the mostimportant ingredient for sucess.

Knowing the rules of grammar and the different guidelines that are needed in different genres of writing. It does take some education to be a good or successful writer, I would say between an 8-12th grade education would suffice. Then again it's up to the person to hone one's writing skills in order to have a successful writing career. ...

I guess neither , if you understand your target readers' preferences and have a flair for the language in which you write its enough. Although there can be a debate about whether a degree or a friends at the right places will help in getting your work published. After all you cannot really call yourself a writer till you got a book published.