I don't think any good book is based on factual experience. Bad books are about things the writer already knew before he wrote them.
Carlos FuentesDeath is the great Maecenas, Death is the great angel of writing. You must write because you are not going to live any more.
Carlos FuentesDiplomacy in a sense is the opposite of writing. You have to disperse yourself so much: the lady who comes in crying because shes had a fight with the secretary; exports and imports; students in trouble; thumbtacks for the embassy.
Carlos Fuentes