Editing All My Children (section)

=== Origins ===
[[Agnes Nixon]], then head writer for ''[[Guiding Light|The Guiding Light]]'', first came up with the idea for ''All My Children'' in the 1960s. When writing the [[Bible (writing)|story bible]], she designed the show as a light-hearted soap opera that focused on social issues and young love.<ref name="Worlds Without End">{{cite book|first1=Ron|last1=Simon|first2=Robert J.|last2=Thompson|first3=Louise|last3=Spence|first4=Jane|last4=Feuer|editor-first=Robert|editor-last=Morton|title=Worlds Without End: The Art and History of the Soap Opera|publisher=Harry N. Abrams|location=New York City|year=1997|isbn=978-0-8109-3997-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/worldswithoutend00muse/page/34 34–36]|url=https://archive.org/details/worldswithoutend00muse/page/34}}</ref> She unsuccessfully attempted to sell the series to [[NBC]], then to [[CBS]], and once again to NBC through [[Procter & Gamble]].<ref name="The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television">{{cite book|first1=Wesley|last1=Hyatt|title=The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television|publisher=Billboard Books|location=New York City|year=1997|isbn=978-0-8230-8315-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofda00hyat/page/13 13–18]|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofda00hyat/page/13}}</ref> When Procter & Gamble was unable to make room for the show in its lineup, Nixon put ''All My Children'' on hold.

Nixon became [[head writer]] for ''[[Another World (TV series)|Another World]]'' in 1965, and decided to use a few ideas from her ''All My Children'' bible. In particular, she used the model of the [[Erica Kane]] character to create a brand new ''Another World'' character named [[Rachel Cory Hutchins|Rachel Davis]]. Nixon said Rachel was Erica's "precursor to the public ... [What] Erica and Rachel have in common is they thought if they could get their dream, they'd be satisfied... But that dream has been elusive", Nixon said.<ref>Simon, p. 28.</ref><ref>Hyatt, p. 29.</ref>