"Many writers who choose to be active in the world lose not virtue but time, and that stillness without which literature cannot be made"

Gore Vidal's quote suggests that authors who pick to be active worldwide may be sacrificing their time for literature. He suggests that stillness is necessary for literature to be produced, which by being active worldwide, writers are losing on that stillness. He likewise indicates that writers are not losing out on virtue by being active on the planet, however rather they are losing on time. This recommends that writers must be mindful of how they invest their time, and that they need to prioritize stillness in order to create literature. Vidal's quote is a tip to authors that they need to bear in mind how they spend their time, and that they must focus on stillness in order to produce literature.