There is no greater cinematic betrayal than the Pretty in Pink dress reveal. I still haven’t forgiven Molly Ringwald’s character for this abomination.

She spends half the movie agonizing over prom and her position in life, learning to accept that she is her own special snowflake and doesn’t need the approval of others to be HER.

She takes the two hand me down dresses, representative of the dueling nature’s she feels torn between, and begins ripping them apart; shredding societal pressure! A moment of true rebirth, glistening on the horizon; the culmination of who she knows she can be.

Then we endure an entire montage of her making a new dress out of two, objectively, beautiful dresses.

Scissors.
Fabric.
Determined look.
Rocking 80s montage soundtrack!

We are promised a glow-up. We are emotionally prepped for triumph. We’re meant to believe something transcendent is happening and we are primed to be in awe of her Pretty In Pink moment. The moment the entire ethos of the film relies on!

And then she walks out in…The Dress.

It is not “quirky.” It is not “bold.” It is not “ahead of its time.” It is flaccid! It is a weirdly proportioned, limp, Grandma’s curtains dress. It manages the rare feat of being both overworked and unfinished. It’s U-G-L-Y, and it ain’t got no alibi.

She had the tools. She had access. She had enthusiasm. What she did not have was the skill to turn raw materials into something that actually worked in the real world.

This is how a lot of organizational #writing happens.

You have #Canva. You have #ChatGPT. You have Google Docs, templates, “best practices,” and a cousin who “likes to write.”

You assemble the pieces with the utmost sincerity. And then you publish… a metaphorical ugly pink prom dress. Technically finished. Emotionally confusing. Quietly undermining everything you were trying to say about yourselves.

Access to tools is not the same as knowing how to use them. Good writing isn’t just words on a page. It’s audience awareness. Structure. Power dynamics. Reading levels. Narrative logic. Tone discipline. It’s knowing when clarity matters more than cleverness and when impact matters more than vibes.

It’s understanding how language lands on funders, policymakers, communities, and skeptics who are already tired and already suspicious.

That’s where I come in.

As a #freelance writer, I help organizations translate what they mean into writing that actually works. Website copy, grant proposals, impact reports that real humans can read. Social content that sounds like it was written by and for a human audience. White papers and speeches that don’t punish your consumer for showing up.

You can ABSOLUTELY keep sewing it yourself! But if you don’t want to walk into the virtual prom wondering why nobody wants to sit next to you, it might be time to bring in someone who actually knows how to cut the fabric.

Send me a message; let’s make sure your work shows up dressed like it knows why it’s there.

#bookme