I survived, and now see the light at the end of the tunnel. A cold glint that makes me smile with anticipation. Some time after it started — maybe five minutes — I realised it would be better than I anticipated. And it was.

Workshopping is fun. Now I know that, I've got nothing to fear. Most of the criticism was merited and the comments were remarkably consistent, demonstrating the existence of real flaws. So I rewrote the piece.

But there's one thing I don't want to do. They suggested using longer quotes from fewer interviewees. And that means going back into the recordings for more fuel. Not something I relish, especially with all the background noise on the recording making some people impossible to hear.

For kicks I've sent the story away to a friend who is a trained journalist, for her comments. When I get those back, I'll do some more digging next weekend, and post the result. Then you, too, can benefit from reading my cool constructions and stylish sentences.