[jeremymcanally]

I think you're changing your question from the first sentence to the next. I think what ahoyhere is taking issue with is not that good ideas are essential to writing well, but that good ideas are most of writing well (a statement that I, too, would argue isn't entirely accurate).

To re-use some of your essay's ideas, I've seen just as many well-loved "motivational writers" (e.g., Joel Osteen [who seems like the king of this sort of writing] or to use nerdier examples, Malcolm Gladwell [in some cases] and Seth Godin [to some extent]) as you've apparently seen bubble mouthed motivational speakers. I read books from authors like that, and, while well written, they don't actually do much for me intellectually other than motivate me to progress my own thinking or actions (i.e., very few actually new ideas are introduced to my brain).