The Word Cave

New scholarship and deadline extension!

$600 off my upcoming Essay Collection Incubator

Dec 4 • 

Lilly Dancyger

9

3

The Jelly Donut Theory of Thrillers

In 2025, I read 25 books that I would classify as thrillers or mysteries, and this post is basically me thinking out loud (on the page) about what made…

Dec 2 • 

Lilly Dancyger

21

5

1

November 2025

Mapping the interior (of a novel)

I’d written myself into a dead-end because I wasn’t keeping close enough tabs on the shifting inner landscape of each character.

Nov 18 • 

Lilly Dancyger

63

9

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I want to read your manuscript!

upcoming editorial availability and writing classes

Nov 5 • 

Lilly Dancyger

25

8

5

October 2025

What To Do When the Words Won't Come

writing advice from Ask Lilly

Oct 23 • 

Lilly Dancyger

28

9

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Ask Me Anything (About Writing)

Paid subscriptions make it possible for me to devote time to writing What Is a Novel?, Museum Pages, and other Word Cave essays—and this Ask Lilly…

Oct 15 • 

Lilly Dancyger

11

5

2

What Happens When You Actually Put Writing First?

reflections on a Paris fellowship

Oct 7 • 

Lilly Dancyger

138

19

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September 2025

The “20k-Word Rule” of Drafting

I’ve started and restarted my novel draft from the beginning six times now. This is the “wrong” way to write a first draft, I know.

Sep 3 • 

Lilly Dancyger

194

29

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August 2025

What Does it Mean to Be “Present” on the Page?

Ask Lilly: a new writing advice column

Aug 20 • 

Lilly Dancyger

46

14

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Ask Me Anything

Fun fact: I’ve wanted an advice column of my very own since I first learned what they were as a little kid.

Aug 12 • 

Lilly Dancyger

17

9

5

July 2025

Surprise! New book deal!

I’ve been secretly working on a novella-length essay about dance and chronic pain—called Ballet Will Heal Me—that I’m thrilled to say will be published…

Jul 31 • 

Lilly Dancyger

135

34

14

Museum Pages: Botticelli, AI, and Missing the Point

I’ve worried that the intensity of my outrage might make me sound less reasonable. But you know what? I’m both pissed off and correct.

Jul 10 • 

Lilly Dancyger

143

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