Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Capote criticizes Kerouac's method as mechanical rather than artistic, suggesting it lacks deliberate craft.
In plain terms
Writing should involve thought and revision, not just fast transcription.
What can you take from it?
True writing requires editing and intention, not just speed.

Where it applies

  • literary criticism
  • writing advice
  • artist debates

Putting it to work

  • edit drafts
  • plan before writing
  • value revision

Questions to consider

  • Is speed the enemy of quality?
  • What defines true writing?

Another view

Speed can be a valid creative choice for some styles.

More from Truman Capote

  1. 'Good taste is the death of art.'

    Permalink to quote #7
  2. 'More tears are shed for answered prayers than for unanswered ones.' (The dedication in his last, unfinished work)

    Permalink to quote #9
  3. 'As everyone knows, a fag is a homosexual gentleman who has just left the room.'

    Permalink to quote #6

Related quotes

  1. Ultimately, literature is nothing but carpentry.

    Gabriel Garcia MarquezGabriel Garcia Marquez quote #4
  2. My theory of technique, if I have one, is very far from original; nor is it complicated. I can express it in fifteen words, by quoting The Eternal Question And…

    E. E. CummingsE. E. Cummings quote #6
  3. To speak today of a famous novelist is like speaking of a famous cabinetmaker or speedboat designer. Adjective is inappropriate to noun.

    Gore VidalGore Vidal quote #27