do you think to be a successful wrtiterone need to be a great thinker?

I agree with you somewhat. Writing also takes talent.

I think a good writer needs more imagination than a thinker. Of course you need to construct phrases, you need to know what word to write. But if we are talking about book writers of course, imagination is the most precious - good thinker cames after. If we are talking about newspaper (world/country/city news in general) people need to be a good thinker and might not have any imagination at all, because they are writing real things, that happened. Sop, in my opinion, it depends on what people writes.

I totally agree with you. Writers need to think a lot, to know what and how to express their sentiments exactly as how they would like to be perceived. Since after all, the main reason for writing is to send a message. What use is that message if it's badly thought out and written? It will not be taken seriously by readers.

Here's the thing, I am a great thinker but I'm not a great writer. I communicate very well in person, I'm articulate and engaging, but when I put it on paper, it lacks organization. But I am doing something about it. Education and practice.