Young Voices Article 04

They say everyone has a story.

What they don’t say is how many drafts it takes to make sense of it.



There are rules. Tips. Frameworks.

You learn to find the tension.

Create the arc.

Introduce the hero.

Set the stakes.

Land the twist.



But if you pay attention, the best stories break the rules just enough to feel true.



Turns out, that applies to careers too.



Like most people, I started out following the script.

Go to uni. Pick a job. Get in early, stay late. Work your way up.

Clean. Predictable. Logical.



Until it wasn’t.



The tension came early.

I got a job in account service, but kept thinking like a creative.

Moved into copywriting, but kept thinking about the business.

Every time I landed on something, I learned something else.



And it started to feel like I was writing the wrong tagline for my own career.

Clever enough to get approved. Not quite true enough to stick.



You know the feeling, when something works on paper, but your gut says: nah, not it.

That same gut? It shows up in your work and your work life.

And if you’re smart, you learn to trust it.



Because before people tune out, you feel it.

You lose energy. The feedback dries up.

People stop asking for your headline.



That’s the tension.

And whether you’re writing scripts or switching roles, it usually means one thing:

time for a rewrite.



So, I tried something weirder. Funnier. More me.

And turns out, changing direction isn’t failure. It’s editing.



So when I pivoted. Once. Then again.

I kept wondering if I was getting it wrong.

Starting over. Leaving key scenes out.



But what’s the first thing copywriters are often told?

Say it straight. Then make it great.



The bones come first. The fluff comes later.

And sometimes, the best part is the twist you didn’t plan.



Here’s mine: I’m becoming a strategist.

Not the job I planned for. But maybe the one I was always building toward.



Some people follow a script and arrive in a straight line.

Good for them.



Most of us don’t. And that’s okay.

We zigzag. We edit. We wonder if we’re behind.



The truth is, we’re not. We’re just figuring it out while pretending we’ve already got it sorted.



And if you’re reading this and wondering whether you’re on the right path, maybe don’t ask where the path leads.



Ask whether the story feels true.

Whether the voice sounds like you.

Whether there’s a bit of tension.

A bit of fun.

A mungbean word or two.



Because every good story needs structure.

But every great one needs a twist.





Thanks for reading our fourth Article of Young Voices.

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Article 04 was written by Tom Hogan, Junior Strategist at Neighbourhood Strategy & Youngbloods Committee Member