Writing Process - Idea through First Draft

Here's a brief example of the process from the idea to the first draft. I word vomited the story out. I haven't re-read it or edited it in any way. Next time we'll do the second draft revision. You'll get to see the story develop from draft to draft.

The idea:

That time I drank Chinese Super Dieters Tea not knowing what it was. It was at work on a busy day.

The characters:

Me and patients

Me – chubby, short blonde hair, brown eyes, wearing scrubs as a receptionist.

Outline:

I spotted the tea at HEB and grabbed it thinking it was just a weight loss aid. I brought it to work and brewed up a batch, not knowing what it would do. The rush hit. All of a sudden I have to go to the bathroom really bad but can’t because I’m running the front desk.

Calendar: No need. All takes place on the same day.

First Draft:

I was shopping on my lunch break at HEB and came across a bright green box with a sexy lady silhouette on it that said “Chinese Super Dieters Tea.” I’ve always struggled with my weight and the idea of tea that would help me shed pounds was enticing. I bought it and went back to work.

It was a busy day at the office. I worked for an optometrist running the front desk at the time. I followed the instructions on the box: steep one tea bag in a covered cup of boiling water for no more than two minutes.

I added some sugar and took it to the front desk with me. The rush hit. The waiting room was full of people waiting to be seen by the doctor or picking out glasses. The phone was ringing off the hook. That was pretty typical for the afternoons.

Suddenly I began to feel terrible pains in my bowels. Cramps seized me, followed by the gut gurgles. A cold sweat broke out on my face and forehead. Every muscle strained with the effort of not exploding diarrhea out of my butt in front of all those people. There was no one to relieve me. To make things worse, the only restroom in the whole office was a shared one right there in the waiting room.

My coworker would listen to make sure people washed their hands before they came out. You could hear everything people did in there! It didn't matter. I wouldn't make it somewhere else. I had to go, and I had to go immediately.

The moment the rush settled I bolted to the bathroom. I was cold sweating and doubling over with cramps. I turned on both the hot and cold water at full strength just to try and mask some of the noise that was sure to come.

I’ll stop there and spare you the comparison between my butt and hot lava spraying out of my anus like Mount Vesuvius into the toilet of Pompeii. Suffice to say, I never took the “diet tea” at work again. I named it “poo tea” because that’s really what it was. That’s all it did. That wasn't exactly the type of weight loss I was hoping for.