Split Personalities

I had a baby a few weeks ago. It was beautiful, enlightening, inspiring and daunting. Then it did what others have done in the past, it broke into two. Fraternal, not identical.

Of course, the actual prospects of me running around with drool on my shoulder (not mine) is about as pleasant to me as a cheese grater to the face...but this is writing we're talking about- right?

It came about in Austin, Tex. I loved this concept that began to stew so quickly, as they often do, and I was set to write. Made some notes, laid out some points and figured 'hell, lets go at 'er'. About 4 pages in it dawned on me like a sledgehammer in the groin from an angry ex..."this isn't exactly how I planned it".

The conceived child wasn't anything like I planned. Different eyes, different tone of voice, different hair even. It could have been the milk mans idea.

I realized that I had two very distinct ideas, and the only through line was...me. One is an idea that wants to be sci-fi/psycological...like I've thrived with in the past. The other, wants to be something more personal and inviting - which happens to be nothing like me or anything I've written.

I had them fully separated eventually and sat with them for a little. It's an easy choice - go with the one you can do well. Sadly I'm not smart enough...and I've gone with the one I have no clue about...

As of now, Act 1 is the most put together Act I've ever written. And it's scary personnel (though I won't tell you how). I only hope I don't falter too much and run away or lose steam in the 2nd and 3rd Acts....we'll see. But the other little baby seems to have formulated itself as well...to be addressed later.

How many times has this happened with you though? Your ideas split up, rightly so, and born into two different ideas. But not just different scripts...I mean completely different- style, genre, story...etc. All from one idea?

The end.
ED NOTE: Jamie wasn't really in the mood to write anything of merit, but had 15 minutes to kill. Currently, the 15 minutes has him pinned down like a tourist on a train full of Gypsies...


And can you hear it? Can you? Christmas is 6 weeks away. And if you don't know...it's the only thing I actually stake claim to enjoying- so dash my spirit and I'll fucking skin you alive. ;)