Barbara Dee is a veteran (and prolific!) author of middle grade books, so I was honored to chat with her about her newest middle grade book. Unstuck follows seventh grader Lyla whose writing anxiety won’t let her get beyond outlining her story in intense detail. Barbara and I talked about the inspiration for Unstuck, whether she’ll ever write a fantasy novel, and her inspiration for writing tween stories year after year.
Interview with Barbara Dee on Unstuck
Hi Barbara, welcome to Reading Middle Grade! It’s a pleasure to have you here. I love your writing, and I’m excited to chat with you about Unstuck—a book that is also about writing. Lyla has so many grand ideas but is paralyzed by the anxiety of what several other people will think. Why did you decide to write about writer’s block in this book?
Every time I do a school visit, at least one kid will ask me how I deal with writer’s block. I also get emails from kids that say things like: I’m writing a fantasy novel, and I’m stuck on page six. Any tips for how to keep going? Many kids struggle with writing anxiety, and I’ve noticed that they’re often voracious readers who feel as if they need to prove themselves, and also to measure up to their favorite authors. So I wanted to write a novel about a kid who at first feels compelled to do endless world-building and self-editing—and then gradually, with the gentle support of a teacher, finds her own voice.
I loved having Dahlia’s story woven into Lyla’s as a subplot. I’m curious why you chose to spend so much time on Dahlia’s story and involve Lyla heavily in helping her figure it out.
Both Lyla and Dahlia are so focused on other people’s expectations and opinions that they lose a sense of themselves. Instead of enjoying the process of writing, Lyla pressures herself to write a story that will impress her (former) best friend, her seventh-grade ELA teacher, and also the judges of the town’s creative writing contest. The result of all this self-imposed pressure is writing paralysis. Her sister Dahlia is a superstar high school senior applying to fancy colleges not because she wants to go but because she thinks it’s what her parents expect. Now, for the first time ever, she’s struggling with her writing as the deadline for college essays approaches–and as Lyla sees her “perfect” big sister experience a different (but related) type of writer’s block, her eyes are opened to her big sister’s vulnerability.
In addition to the parallel writer’s block storylines, I wanted to explore how these two siblings are stuck in their roles as “superstar firstborn”/ “invisible little sister.” Lyla is also stuck in a “best friendship” that she’s unwilling to let go of, even as it’s obviously ending. So although Unstuck is mainly a story about writing, it’s also about figuring out who you are and what you care about–without regard to the labels that can get you stuck.
The parallels between Lyla’s fantasy story and her real life are impossible to miss. Do you ever see yourself writing fantasy stories?
I’m a writer and reader of realistic fiction, and to be honest, I doubt I’ll ever write a full fantasy novel. But I do have to say that I had a blast reading many middle grade fantasies as my research for Unstuck, and then incorporating fantasy tropes into Lyla’s story.
Sometimes I hear kids say that they think fantasy novels are more imaginative than realistic fiction–but I disagree. When you’re writing fantasy, you can invent your way out of any character’s predicament. But when you’re writing realistic fiction, you need to come up with solutions that are possible in the real world–yet still feel fresh and surprising to the reader. That takes imagination.
Lyla is caught in an evolving friendship and learning to open herself up to new relationships. As everyone who’s ever been young knows: few friendships are lifelong. What do you hope readers take away from Lyla’s changing friendships?
On their first day of middle school, my kids’ principal would tell them: “See the kids sitting next to you? I guarantee that when we re-assemble in four years for eighth-grade graduation, you’ll be sitting next to two completely different kids.” I’ve always remembered that speech because it’s true: friendships in middle school are volatile and fluid. I write about this in all of my books.
For many kids, the ending of a friendship can be traumatic. In Unstuck, I wanted to show that even best friendships do end sometimes–and that these endings are survivable. In fact, Lyla comes to realize that she has way more in common with her new friend, Journey, a kid she’d previously dismissed as “weird.”
I loved the tips for getting unstuck you share in the backmatter. Do you ever struggle with writer’s block? What are your favorite ways to get unstuck?
I hope readers walk away from Unstuck, understanding that every writer struggles at times and that there are many different strategies that will help get you unstuck. In the back of the book, I suggest 25 strategies, but of course, there are countless others! The main thing to know is that not all strategies will work for all writers; the goal is to find the strategy that works best for you.
I’ve never had the kind of paralyzing writer’s block that Lyla experiences in Unstuck, but I’ve certainly had days when all I produce is a negative word count! When I’m stuck, one thing I do is get up from my desk and take my dog Ripley outside for a long walk. I’ll listen to a podcast and make myself not think about the writing problem, which sometimes magically resolves itself by the time I return to my computer!
Another thing I like to do is read screenplays of my favorite movies and TV shows. I use a lot of dialogue in my writing, and reading these lines helps to remind me how characters speak.
You’ve written so many books—and you keep writing more and more. What keeps you inspired, especially in kid lit? And how do you find fresh ideas after so many books?
I think it’s easy to stay inspired when you’re writing about middle schoolers because they’re fascinating people. They’re changing right before your eyes, in real time, and I find that fluidity a fun challenge to capture. I also think of middle schoolers as walking paradoxes– jumbles of sophistication and innocence, in the process of figuring out who they are and at the same time being totally dependent on their families. So there’s never a lack of subject matter!
I’m convinced we’re in a golden age of middle-grade fiction because (despite the efforts of book banners!) writers are exploring all sorts of complex topics in age-appropriate ways. Talking to kids about the things they care about, as opposed to the things we adults think they should care about, ensures that we’re writing about subjects that will resonate with readers.
What else do you wish I’d asked you?
I wish you’d asked me about my next middle-grade book!
My next middle-grade novel, Tear This Down, is about a seventh-grader named Freya who learns that the most famous historical figure associated with her town didn’t believe women should vote. With the help of friends, she begins a campaign to tear down his statue and replace it with one of a local suffragette. This is a book about social activism, feminism, voting rights, and the heroes we choose to honor. Tear This Down will be published in February 2025, and I’m really looking forward to discussing it with kids!
Thanks so much for being here, Barbara!
About Unstuck (Out February 27, 2024)
Barbara Dee is the award-winning author of fourteen middle grade novels, all published by Simon & Schuster. Her books have earned several starred reviews and have been named to many best-of lists, including The Washington Post’s Best Children’s Books, ALA Notable Children’s Books, ALA Rise: A Feminist Book Project List, School Library Journal’s Best Middle Grade Books, and the ALA Rainbow List Top Ten. Her books appear on numerous state awards lists as well.
Barbara graduated magna cum laude from Yale with honors in English. She has a MA degree from Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English and a JD degree from the University of Chicago Law School, where she was an associate editor of the law review. She has taught high school English and has practiced law. Barbara is one of the founders and a former board member of the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival, now the largest children’s book festival in the country.
Connect with Barbara Dee
- Website: https://barbaradeebooks.com/
- Instagram: @barbaradeebooks
- Twitter: @Barbaradee2
- Threads: @barbaradeebooks
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