Every now and then I make the mistake of reading an essay by a writer writing about writing.  I know you've all read this kind of thing before.  It goes, "The craft of writing -- and I call it a craft, not an art, for there is too much an element of joinery and carpentry to be pure art -- but it's an ancient craft, the craft of the shaman in the fire circle, the troubadour, the world creator"...