Lessons from Maine

It's one thing to visit Maine, but quite another to make it an annual writer's retreat. As a journalist living in Kansas, Arlene Rains Graber began writing as a young girl, but after writing for newspapers and magazines for nearly three decades, the fiction bug knocked at her door. She was an avid reader of fiction, but had never written a word that wasn’t true until a plot formed in her mind. Honored as writer of the year twice for a small newspaper, voted best article winner of the year, and several first place honors in contests, she decidedb it couldn’t be too difficult to write fiction.

The struggle was more than she imagined. Things like sticking to the facts kept dominating her mind along with straight forward sentences, concise short statements, and choppy dialogue. Then, a idea of frequent retreats away from the phones and editors became a reality. Ultimately, those retreats landed in Maine which offered the perfect environment for her to make the transition. Travel with her as she finds that special Maine sanctuary to write, study, and complete several novels.