I mean you are just wrong. You memorize what sound (well sounds) the letter "a" makes, which is of course fundamental to being able to write because English uses an alphabet. You might argue that reading isn't writing, but the two are interdependent (or at least writing generally dependent on reading).

Not to mention memorizing how to physically write (i.e. what you're talking about with handwriting)...

I assume you think I mean composition or something, which is of course extremely obviously not what I meant... But to develop that skill of "writing" that you're talking about requires memorization of the fundamentals... Which applies quite broadly to other disciplines...