Writer's Fallout Shelter

S.E. Hinton was only 17 when she wrote The Outsiders.

I realize I'm quoting the exception to the rule, because most novelists are in their mid-thirties when their first book is published, but age is not always a barrier to vision or life experience. If you have a story to tell and have enough mastery of the craft to tell it, then age should not prevent you from telling it.

Consider to that craftsman must begin learning the tools of their trade sometime. Why should a wordsmith wait until they are older to begin their apprenticeship? Can't they start just as early as any other tradesman?