Can someone be a great writer without having read too much in childhood and adolescence?

Can someone be a great writer without having read too much in childhood and adolescence?

Hypothetically yes but you won't.

Well, that's not true at all.

What makes a great writer?

Making great books - if you've never written a great book you cannot be a great writer.

Now, what makes a book great?

Any combination of beautiful presentation, unique perspective, entertaining progression, unique and useful information, or sheer originality.

Not having read many books may put you at a disadvantage in that you cannot tell the novelty from the hackneyed - the human race has collectively been reading for a very long time, and there are an awful lot of people who have read an awful lot of stories.

Your best bet is in going somewhere and doing something fantastic and writing about that - a fresh experience expressed by an amateur's pen has a value that eclipses the greatest of conventional works.

But beware; the road ahead is a hard one, and there are travellers upon it better prepared to see it's end than you.

sure user, sure.

All of my friends in school who got good grades in writing also read a lot.

I never got good grades. I read my first novel when I was 21 or something and I don't read much now.

I don't aspire to be a writer.

*get*

I think it would be more helpful if you not only read but wrote from a young age. I think that is more important than just reading.

But still, I don't think writing is like sports, where you really must have started by a certain age. I think you can start whenever.

yes

If you have a natural talent for it, then yes, you can.