Tandem writing

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iggy1966
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Tandem writing

Post by iggy1966 »

Funniest thing I've read in ages. You have to read it to the end to get the true story.

Remember the book - "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus"? Well, here is a true life example from the University of Phoenix. An English Professor assigned his students to a joint writing exercise that quickly degraded - check it out...

"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 my English students:

Rebecca (last name deleted), and Gary (last name deleted).
----------------------------------------------------------------

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 bumped 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 newspapers 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 that 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 and 85 million other Americans. The President slammed his fist on the conference table. "We can't allow this! I'm going to veto that treaty! Let's blow 'em out of the sky!"

(Rebecca)

This is absurd. I refuse to continue this mockery of literature. My writing partner is a violent, chauvinistic semiliterate adolescent.

(Gary)

Yeah? Well, you're 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***ING TEA??? Oh no, I'm such an air headed bimbo who reads too many Danielle Steele novels."

(Rebecca)

A**hole.

(Gary)

B****.

(Rebecca)

Get screwed.

(Gary)

Eat sh**.

(Rebecca)

SCREW YOU - YOU NEANDERTHAL!!!

(Gary)

GO DRINK SOME TEA - B***h.

**********************************************

(TEACHER) A+ - I really liked this one. Only group to get an A.
"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."
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Pete.L
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Post by Pete.L »

:lol: :lol: :lol:
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cupasoop
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Post by cupasoop »

But what happened to the Anu'udrian's??

I hate it when a story stops in the middle like that. :x
Rich.

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iggy1966
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Post by iggy1966 »

It's obvious what happened next, the Anu'udrians missiles hit the cup of chamomile tea and where deflected away from the earth into a harmless orbit around the planet Bigredun 5 and, in a strange twist of "soap opera like" fate, Advanced Captain Carl Harris woke up with a rather nasty bump on his head, not dead after all, whipped his forces into immediate action and drove off the Anu'udrian mother ship using a large pionty stick, then went back to earth had a hearty breakfast, shagged the daft bimbo, then nipped down the corner shop for a paper and get his lottery ticket for the super dupper prize draw (which of course he won). Then he found out that the daft bimbo was really a bloke in disguise and everyone called him names, then he cried and went to tell his mum.

and they all lived happily ever after :wink:
"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."
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tony.wilde1
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Post by tony.wilde1 »

iggy .expect the crew from channel 5 round any minite..theyll buy it!! :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Pete.L
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Post by Pete.L »

It's obvious what happened next, the Anu'udrians missiles hit the cup of chamomile tea and where deflected away from the earth into a harmless orbit around the planet Bigredun 5 and, in a strange twist of "soap opera like" fate, Advanced Captain Carl Harris woke up with a rather nasty bump on his head, not dead after all, whipped his forces into immediate action and drove off the Anu'udrian mother ship using a large pionty stick, then went back to earth had a hearty breakfast, shagged the daft bimbo, then nipped down the corner shop for a paper and get his lottery ticket for the super dupper prize draw (which of course he won). Then he found out that the daft bimbo was really a bloke in disguise and everyone called him names, then he cried and went to tell his mum.
Wow!!!
What an imagination 8O
Say....er. Were you ever a student of English at the Univercity of Pheonix?
Or possible a script writer for Dallas in a previous life :D

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Jaglifter
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Post by Jaglifter »

Iggy, That's brilliant. Best laugh I've had for days :lol:
She's my idea of beauty and thats what I ride.
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RAINMAKER
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Post by RAINMAKER »

Made me feel horny........................... :oops:
it may be clever, but its not big.
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Bink
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Post by Bink »

Class! 8)
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