"It came about as follows: over the years when I was involved in dianetics, I wrote the beginnings of many stories. I would get an idea, and then write the beginning, and then never touch it again"
About this Quote
A confession like this lands less as self-deprecation than as a quiet autopsy of creative distraction. Van Vogt isn’t talking about ordinary procrastination; he’s describing a pattern of interrupted momentum that shadows his years “involved in dianetics,” the mid-century self-help movement that promised mental clarity and personal power. The subtext is sharp: a system marketed as unlocking your potential can also reroute it, turning sustained imaginative labor into a series of false starts.
Notice how methodical the sentence feels. “Over the years,” “beginnings of many stories,” “get an idea,” “write the beginning” - it’s a checklist, almost clinical. That procedural rhythm mirrors dianetics’ own appeal: life as something you can audit, break into steps, and fix. But then the last clause drops like a guillotine: “and then never touch it again.” The bluntness refuses to romanticize the abandoned drafts. It’s not writerly myth; it’s lost output.
Context matters because van Vogt’s reputation rests on propulsion: baroque premises, rapid escalation, the sense that ideas are always outrunning the page. This quote reframes that strength as a vulnerability. High-concept thinking becomes a factory for openings rather than endings, especially when coupled with an ideology that keeps pulling attention inward, toward self-improvement narratives instead of fictional ones.
The specific intent feels explanatory - “It came about as follows” is a defense lawyer’s phrase - but the real power is inadvertent. He gives you a miniature tragedy of the productive mind: infinite ignition, no burn time.
Notice how methodical the sentence feels. “Over the years,” “beginnings of many stories,” “get an idea,” “write the beginning” - it’s a checklist, almost clinical. That procedural rhythm mirrors dianetics’ own appeal: life as something you can audit, break into steps, and fix. But then the last clause drops like a guillotine: “and then never touch it again.” The bluntness refuses to romanticize the abandoned drafts. It’s not writerly myth; it’s lost output.
Context matters because van Vogt’s reputation rests on propulsion: baroque premises, rapid escalation, the sense that ideas are always outrunning the page. This quote reframes that strength as a vulnerability. High-concept thinking becomes a factory for openings rather than endings, especially when coupled with an ideology that keeps pulling attention inward, toward self-improvement narratives instead of fictional ones.
The specific intent feels explanatory - “It came about as follows” is a defense lawyer’s phrase - but the real power is inadvertent. He gives you a miniature tragedy of the productive mind: infinite ignition, no burn time.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
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