I think everything you've pointed out is true What also may be true is that it gives some people permission to try to write something BIG, especially people who never have. They may not complete it, but it may end up being the first step to them having the courage to write something big again, a little ways down the line. I took a pottery class long ago. It was a slab rather than a potter's wheel class. We were instructed to build something HUGE. We didn't worry so much about aesthetics, just about size. That first project freed us up to do something else aesthetically pleasing next. We were no longer afraid.