How to break into writing and stay the distance

Advice for newcomers from some of the nominees of this year's Prime Minister's Literary Awards.

Are you starting out in your writing journey but not quite sure how to go about putting pen to paper, or how to maintain your creativity and stay motivated and focussed? We asked some shortlisted authors of the 2021 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards to offer tips for new scribes.

Amanda Lohrey, The Labyrinth (Fiction)

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Thuy On is the Reviews and Literary Editor of ArtsHub and an arts journalist, critic and poet who’s written for a range of publications including The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Sydney Review of Books, The Australian, The Age/SMH and Australian Book Review. She was the Books Editor of The Big Issue for 8 years and a former Melbourne theatre critic correspondent for The Australian. She has three collections of poetry published by the University of Western Australian Press (UWAP): Turbulence (2020), Decadence (2022) and Essence (2025). Threads: @thuy_on123 Instagram: poemsbythuy