Barbara Dee: Writer’s Block Is a Normal Part of the Writing Process

Barbara Dee is the award-winning author of 14 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. Follow her on X (Twitter) and Instagram.

In this post, Barbara discusses how she immersed herself in fantasy fiction as research for her new middle-grade novel, Unstuck, her advice for other writers, and more!

Name: Barbara Dee
Book title: Unstuck
Publisher: Aladdin / Simon & Schuster
Expected release date: February 27, 2024
Genre/category: Middle-grade fiction
Previous titles by the author: Maybe He Just Likes You; Haven Jacobs Saves the Planet; Violets are Blue; My Life in the Fish Tank; Everything I Know About You; Halfway Normal; Star-Crossed; Truth or Dare; The (Almost) Perfect Guide to Imperfect Boys; Trauma Queen; This is Me From Now On; Solving Zoe; Just Another Day in My Insanely Real Life
Elevator pitch: Unstuck follows seventh-grader Lyla as she navigates unexpected changes in her school life, friendships, and family dynamic, all while working on writing an epic fantasy novel. When she finds herself struggling with writer's block, Lyla learns to overcome it with the help of a cool, resourceful teacher, determined to get her “unstuck.”

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What prompted you to write this book?

I visit middle schools all over the country, both virtually and in person. Lately I’ve been struck by how often, when it’s time for Q&A, students ask about dealing with writer’s block. Teachers tell me that the kids asking this question are the best readers—the ones we call “voracious”—and they tend to favor fantasy novels. I suspect what happens is that these kids get overwhelmed both by the need for hyper-complicated world-building and by the desire to measure up to all the books they’ve read. So, I wanted to write a fun book they could relate to, about a fantasy-obsessed kid struggling to get her brilliant, incredibly complicated story on paper—and at the same time suggest some practical strategies for getting past writer’s block.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

I wrote the first draft of Unstuck in about nine months, which is pretty standard for me. Because this book is about the writing process, I didn’t need to do much research! But before I began writing, I did spend a few months just immersing myself in fantasy novels, which I don’t typically read.

In my original idea for the book, Lyla’s superstar big sister, a high school senior, is struggling with a different kind of writer’s block as she works on her college essay. As I wrote Dahlia’s scenes, I became intrigued by the idea that she was secretly planning to skip college. This added tension to the plot and allowed Lyla to save her surprisingly fragile sister—both in her fantasy novel and in real life.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

When I have a first draft, I always share it with a few trusty beta readers. But for this book, I felt it was critical to share it with kids who read (and write) a lot of fantasy fiction in order to hear from them if I was getting it right. I think so often, kidlit writers are writing at a remove from the ultimate consumers of their work, and I learned a lot by simply listening to kids’ feedback.

For example, one kid said that Lyla's passage through the Quagmire needed more danger; she suggested adding a scary witch who makes Lyla perform some task before she lets her through. Right away I could see how this fairy tale element added to the action, and I wrote the scene that day.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

I write realistic fiction. I read realistic fiction. For this book, I obviously had to read a lot of fantasy fiction as research—and I guess what surprised me was how enjoyable this was, and how grounded in reality many of these stories are. So, in Unstuck, I used that concept, making Lyla’s fantasy novel a mirror image of her real life.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

First and foremost, that writer’s block is a normal part of the writing process, and there are many different strategies for dealing with it, which I list in the back of the book (“Twenty-Five Ways to Get Unstuck”). Not every strategy works for every writer; you just need to find the one that works for you.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Even if you’re a committed plotter, you really don’t need to have it all worked out before you begin. Trust that ideas will come to you as you write. Enjoy the process of discovery.