Guest Post: Barbara Dee on the Sound of Middle Grade: Getting the Voice

By Barbara Dee

Spotlight image: Barbara Dee at the 2021 Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival.

If you write middle grade fiction, chances are good that at some point someone will ask: “Do you ever plan to write for grownups?”

It’s a question that always irks. I think what’s behind it is the assumption that writing for grownups is something to aspire to, because it’s harder than writing for kids.

Barbara visiting a middle school, spring 2021.

But here’s the thing. I’m a grownup, and I talk and writ...