.
I thought I had dealt with and buried this particularly harmful mindset years ago. Apparently not.
I’ve been hearing more and more often lately, around the Artisan Author circuits, a creeping return of the old “fast = crap” mentality.
It’s subtle. It arrives in off-hand remarks like, “Now that I’m allowed to write slowly, maybe I don’t have to put up with all that rapid-release garbage anymore.”
But let’s call that what it is: the same judgment that has long been used to dismiss fast writers. And it’s flat-out wrong.
Let me say it clearly: fast does NOT equal crap. It never has. It never will.
The crap isn’t in the speed. It’s in the craft.
You can write a terrible book slowly. You can write a terrible book quickly. The variable isn’t the clock—it’s the writer’s skill.
A writer who hasn’t learned story structure, voice, pacing, and character development will produce weak work at any speed. Craft is what matters. Not the calendar.
On the flip side, many of us who write quickly have reviews from readers saying things like, “I was surprised this was so good, given how fast you write!” (Thanks? I think?) I’ve released a book every four weeks for twelve years (minus three while I went through cancer treatments), and people still say the stories are original and emotionally rich.
I can’t write to market to save my life. If I could, maybe I’d be raking in the cash. Instead, I write fast, I write true, and I work hard to level up every book.
Here’s the real danger: You might be sabotaging yourself.
This is what I’m most concerned about. Not just the judgment toward others, but what you do to your own writing process when you hang onto “fast = crap.”
If you’ve never tried writing faster, or if you write with one foot on the brakes, constantly tweaking and second-guessing, you might never reach your true creative potential.
You could be hobbling yourself without realizing it.
There’s a sweet spot called “flow,” described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, where your internal editor shuts up, your brain lights up, and the story pours out like it’s being channeled, not crafted.
I write in flow constantly. I often read passages later and think, Did I actually write that? I don’t remember deciding to write those sentences. That’s how flow works.
But you cannot access flow if you’re crawling forward word by word, fiddling with punctuation, afraid to go “too fast.”
So if you believe that speed equals sloppiness, you’re blocking one of the most powerful tools in your creative toolbox.
What Johnny actually says
Let’s bust this myth right at the source.
Johnny B. Truant, author of The Artisan Author, doesn’t say “Write slow or die.” In fact, here’s a quote from his earlier book Write. Publish. Repeat.:
“We strongly believe you should write your first drafts as fast as you can. Now note, that we said ‘as you can’.”
— Write. Publish. Repeat.
That “as you can” is the key. It means your optimal pace. Not what the internet says, not what your writer group says, not even what Johnny says.
And in a recent interview with Indie Author Magazine, Johnny clarified what the Artisan mindset is really about:
“It was never ‘Publish as fast as you can, anything else is secondary,’ which in my mind is the way rapid release has become.”
— Indie Author Magazine interview
Artisan authorship isn’t about slowness as a virtue. It’s about writing with intention—and understanding your own creative rhythms.
Fast writing often means “focused, practiced, and in the chair.”
People tend to equate speed with laziness or sloppiness. But often, speed means:
- You’ve organized your life around writing.
- You have the discipline to show up consistently.
- You’ve written enough to build intuitive storytelling instincts.
- You’re working in flow, not fear.
In short: fast writing can be the result of experience and professionalism.
So when someone throws shade at fast writers, they’re often revealing more about their own insecurities or misunderstandings than about the actual quality of the work.
Let’s agree: “Fast = Crap” is a dead-end idea.
This mindset doesn’t just hurt fast writers—it hurts everyone. It limits what you believe is possible. It makes you afraid to try new approaches. It disconnects you from your own creative instincts.
Can we please agree that:
- Fast ≠ crap
- Slow ≠ genius
- Artisan authorship = writing at the best pace for you
As Johnny says throughout the book: You do you.
Write in a way that keeps you coming back tomorrow. Write with joy, intensity, and deliberate focus. Whether that takes you four weeks or four years doesn’t matter.
But stop judging others—and stop limiting yourself.
Fast. Slow. Doesn’t matter.
What matters is: Are you writing well? Are you writing true? And are you still in love with the work?
Because that’s the real artisan mindset.
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