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, Jennifer 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 Jennifer 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', Jennifer 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 Anudrian 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
> Anudrian 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 Jennifer.
>
> (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 FUCKING TEA??? Oh no, what
> am I to do? I'm such an air-headed bimbo who reads too many Danielle Steele
> novels!'
>
> (Rebecca)
> Asshole.
>
> ( Gary )
> Bitch!
>
> (Rebecca)
> FUCK YOU - YOU NEANDERTHAL!!
>
> ( Gary )
> In your dreams, Ho. Go drink some tea.
>
> (TEACHER)
> A+ - I really liked this one