Constant work, constant writing and constant revision. The real writer learns nothing from life. He is more like an oyster or a sponge. What he takes in he takes in normally the way any person takes in experience. But it is what is done with it in his mind, if he is a real writer, that makes his art.

What a Concept. The producers later made an attempt to salvage some of Vidal's vision in the film's post-production. " During the taping of the show there was a legendary on-camera feud between Vidal and Mailer over what Vidal had written about the latter prompting Mailer to say: "I've had to smell your works from time to time.

His most widely regarded social novel was Myra Breckinridge; his best known historical novels included Julian Burr and Lincoln. In addition to this he characterised the United States as a decaying empire from the 1980s onwards. " Ben-Hur won the Academy Award for Best Picture.