Here's a prime example of "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus"
offered by an English professor from the University of Colorado for an
actual Class
assignment:
The professor told his class one day: "Today we will experiment with
a new
form called the tandem story. The process is simple. Each person will
pair
off with the person sitting to his or her immediate right. As homework
tonight, one of you will write the first paragraph of a short story.
You will e-mail your partner that paragraph and send another copy to me.
The partner will read the first paragraph and then add another paragraph
to the story and send it back, also sending another copy to me. The
first
person will then add a third paragraph, and so on back-and-forth.
Remember
to re-read what has been written each time in order to keep the story
coherent.
There is to be absolutely NO talking outside of the e-mails and
anything you wish to say must be written in the e - mail. The story
is over
when both agree a conclusion has been reached." The following was
actually
turned in by two of his English students: Rebecca and Gary.
THE STORY:
(first paragraph by Rebecca)
At first, Laurie couldn't decide which kind of tea she wanted. The
chamomile, which used to be her favorite for lazy evenings at home,
now reminded her too much of Carl, who once said, in happier times, that
he liked chamomile. But she felt she must now, at all costs, keep her
mind off Carl. His possessiveness was suffocating, and if she thought
about
him too much her asthma started acting up again. So chamomile was out
of the
question.
(second paragraph by Gary)
Meanwhile, Advance Sergeant Carl Harris, leader of the attack squadron
now in orbit over Skylon 4, had more important things to think about
than
the neuroses of an air-headed asthmatic bimbo named Laurie with whom he
had spent one sweaty night over a year ago. "A.S. Harris to Geostation
17," he said into his transgalactic communicator." Polar orbit
established.
No sign of resistance so far..." But before he could sign off a bluish
particle beam flashed out of nowhere and blasted a hole through his
ship's
cargo bay. The jolt from the direct hit sent him flying out of his
seat and
across
the cockpit.
(Rebecca)
He hit his head and died almost immediately, but not before he felt
one last pang of regret for psychically brutalizing the one woman who
had
ever had feelings for him. Soon afterwards, Earth stopped its pointless
hostilities towards the peaceful farmers of Skylon 4. "Congress
Passes Law
Permanently abolishing War and Space Travel," Laurie read in her
newspaper
one morning.
The news simultaneously excited her and bored her. She stared out the
window, dreaming of her youth, when the days had passed unhurriedly
and carefree, with no newspaper to read, no television to distract her
from her sense of innocent wonder at all the beautiful things around
her.
"Why must one lose one's innocence to become a woman?" she pondered
wistfully.
(Gary)
Little did she know, but she had less than 10 seconds to live.
Thousands of miles above the city, the Anu'udrian mothership launched
the
first of its lithium fusion missiles. The dimwitted wimpy peaceniks who
pushed the
Unilateral Aerospace disarmament Treaty through the congress had left
Earth a defenseless target for the hostile alien empires who were
determined
to destroy the human race. Within two hours after the passage of the
treaty the Anu'udrian ships were on course for Earth, carrying enough
firepower to pulverize the entire planet. With no one to stop them, they
swiftly
initiated their diabolical plan. The lithium fusion missile entered
the atmosphere unimpeded. The President, in his top-secret mobile
submarine headquarters on the ocean floor off the coast of Guam, felt
the
inconceivably massive explosion, which vaporized poor, stupid Laurie.
(Rebecca)
This is absurd. I refuse to continue this mockery of literature. My
writing partner is a violent, chauvinistic semi-literate adolescent.
(Gary)
Yeah? Well, my writing partner is a self-centered tedious neurotic
whose attempts at writing are the literary equivalent of Valium. "Oh,
shall
I have chamomile tea? Or shall I have some other sort of F-- KING
TEA??? Oh
no, what am I to do? I'm such an air headed bimbo who reads too many
Danielle Steele novels!"
(Rebecca)
As*h@le.
(Gary)
B*tch!
(Rebecca)
F**K YOU - YOU NEANDERTHAL!!
(Gary)
In your dreams, Ho. Go drink some tea.
(TEACHER)
A+ - I really liked this one
offered by an English professor from the University of Colorado for an
actual Class
assignment:
The professor told his class one day: "Today we will experiment with
a new
form called the tandem story. The process is simple. Each person will
pair
off with the person sitting to his or her immediate right. As homework
tonight, one of you will write the first paragraph of a short story.
You will e-mail your partner that paragraph and send another copy to me.
The partner will read the first paragraph and then add another paragraph
to the story and send it back, also sending another copy to me. The
first
person will then add a third paragraph, and so on back-and-forth.
Remember
to re-read what has been written each time in order to keep the story
coherent.
There is to be absolutely NO talking outside of the e-mails and
anything you wish to say must be written in the e - mail. The story
is over
when both agree a conclusion has been reached." The following was
actually
turned in by two of his English students: Rebecca and Gary.
THE STORY:
(first paragraph by Rebecca)
At first, Laurie couldn't decide which kind of tea she wanted. The
chamomile, which used to be her favorite for lazy evenings at home,
now reminded her too much of Carl, who once said, in happier times, that
he liked chamomile. But she felt she must now, at all costs, keep her
mind off Carl. His possessiveness was suffocating, and if she thought
about
him too much her asthma started acting up again. So chamomile was out
of the
question.
(second paragraph by Gary)
Meanwhile, Advance Sergeant Carl Harris, leader of the attack squadron
now in orbit over Skylon 4, had more important things to think about
than
the neuroses of an air-headed asthmatic bimbo named Laurie with whom he
had spent one sweaty night over a year ago. "A.S. Harris to Geostation
17," he said into his transgalactic communicator." Polar orbit
established.
No sign of resistance so far..." But before he could sign off a bluish
particle beam flashed out of nowhere and blasted a hole through his
ship's
cargo bay. The jolt from the direct hit sent him flying out of his
seat and
across
the cockpit.
(Rebecca)
He hit his head and died almost immediately, but not before he felt
one last pang of regret for psychically brutalizing the one woman who
had
ever had feelings for him. Soon afterwards, Earth stopped its pointless
hostilities towards the peaceful farmers of Skylon 4. "Congress
Passes Law
Permanently abolishing War and Space Travel," Laurie read in her
newspaper
one morning.
The news simultaneously excited her and bored her. She stared out the
window, dreaming of her youth, when the days had passed unhurriedly
and carefree, with no newspaper to read, no television to distract her
from her sense of innocent wonder at all the beautiful things around
her.
"Why must one lose one's innocence to become a woman?" she pondered
wistfully.
(Gary)
Little did she know, but she had less than 10 seconds to live.
Thousands of miles above the city, the Anu'udrian mothership launched
the
first of its lithium fusion missiles. The dimwitted wimpy peaceniks who
pushed the
Unilateral Aerospace disarmament Treaty through the congress had left
Earth a defenseless target for the hostile alien empires who were
determined
to destroy the human race. Within two hours after the passage of the
treaty the Anu'udrian ships were on course for Earth, carrying enough
firepower to pulverize the entire planet. With no one to stop them, they
swiftly
initiated their diabolical plan. The lithium fusion missile entered
the atmosphere unimpeded. The President, in his top-secret mobile
submarine headquarters on the ocean floor off the coast of Guam, felt
the
inconceivably massive explosion, which vaporized poor, stupid Laurie.
(Rebecca)
This is absurd. I refuse to continue this mockery of literature. My
writing partner is a violent, chauvinistic semi-literate adolescent.
(Gary)
Yeah? Well, my writing partner is a self-centered tedious neurotic
whose attempts at writing are the literary equivalent of Valium. "Oh,
shall
I have chamomile tea? Or shall I have some other sort of F-- KING
TEA??? Oh
no, what am I to do? I'm such an air headed bimbo who reads too many
Danielle Steele novels!"
(Rebecca)
As*h@le.
(Gary)
B*tch!
(Rebecca)
F**K YOU - YOU NEANDERTHAL!!
(Gary)
In your dreams, Ho. Go drink some tea.
(TEACHER)
A+ - I really liked this one
Facebook
Twitter