Writing for fun and (profit?)

This might not be the right time to talk about a writing platform, but I am in love with Vellum! In my opinion it is way better than putting up with Words glitches and anomalies. It seems expensive—$250 if you are doing paperbacks and e-books, $199 for e-books only. But, it is not only a writing platform but also a way to publish! It is seriously worth the money—only the one time charge for as many books as you want to write. It gives you many options for details on fonts, how you want your pages to look, with decorative titles and ornamental breaks between sections. You can add your own or use what they offer. Check out Vellum here. There are many writing platforms to choose from, so if you are considering something other than Word, make sure to check all of them out. They are all a little bit different with emphasis on things that make them unique.

There are writers who swear by hand writing their stories—they say that doing it that way is more emotionally driven. I have never experienced this, and to be honest my writing hand just gets too tired—that and my thoughts go too fast for my hand to keep up with—computer keyboard works best for me.

With that said we can move on to other topics. Have you been longing to put down on paper the strange and wondrous things that have happened to you? Do you tell yourself you wish you were a writer? Do you read? If you resonate with these statements and you are reading this article, why not try it? What do you have to lose?

I may have mentioned in my first article that my serious writing began in a writing workshop—I had always loved writing, but it took off that year. And it wasn’t on the topic I was working on, which was a sort of memoir about my parents that I had planned to fictionalize. Instead, it was a fantasy that took place in a mythical reality that I called the Otherworld. You may not believe in channeling, but that’s the only way I can describe what happened next. The books wrote themselves. And they kept on writing themselves until just recently. Thirty of them. But now I am having a heck of a time with my latest story. The characters appeared, but the gist of the story keeps changing. I am now editing what I first wrote—changing the story because something in me says I need to. It’s frustrating because I am 30,000 words in with many chapters in front me to edit before I can continue. AARGH.

Writing can be frustrating and frequently is. For a new writer what I would suggest is to pick a prompt (you can find them everywhere on the internet) and make yourself keep writing for say…fifteen minutes or so. Don’t think about it, just write. And if you get stuck, pick another prompt—there are literally zillions to choose from—or you can make one up: “I was headed to the store when…” or : It was dark the night she/he appeared in my doorway wearing….” or “Just as I stepped off the curb I heard…” a bloodcurdling scream? A fox calling in the night? Someone calling my name? use your imagination…Let your thoughts go as you allow that inner voice to take over and lead you into the world of the imagination…and do not edit! The editing voice and the creative voice are not the same—try to remember that.

So to recap:

hand writing vs. keyboard

Writing platforms: Word vs Vellum and others

Interest in writing? Nothing to lose by trying

Letting go of your critical mind

Prompts—essential!

Creating vs editing—

Did you know that the part of the brain we use to write is separate from other parts? I loved finding that out. I kept thinking about being a story-teller, but I’m not a story-teller, I’m a writer. I’m an introvert and find it difficult to even explain what my books are about. Sometimes after a writing session when I try to recap to my husband, I can’t even do that! I’m sure there are people who are both story-tellers and writers. How do you fit into this equation?

We will get into the profit part of writing next time—watch for my weekly Substack articles!

Thank you for reading and Happy Writing!

Bits and pieces about writing: (formerly published on Substack under Memoir writing).

During this unbearably long past year I have used my Substack platform for political pieces, but have decided to head in another direction that I hope might keep me calmer and might also be of use to those who are thinking about writing or are already stuck in.

I’ve been writing since the early 2000’s and although I am not universally known, I have had some success. I write mostly fantasy and have also delved into paranormal mystery. I am now working on memoir as well as another fantasy that takes place in Ireland. I won’t go on and on about myself. If you are interested in who I am please visit: www.nikkibroadwellauthor.com

For me writing has saved my life. All of the pent up emotions of my past, my childhood and my over active imagination have been let loose from where they were caged for so long. How I began this 30 year journey started with a writing class. It was run by Emily Trinkaus in Portland Oregon where I lived for many years. Emily has had many careers since then, and is now an esteemed astrologer. I have known her a long time and highly recommend her for anyone who is interested in the subject.

I have always loved writing—my favorite school exercise was when the teacher gave us a sentence and then said, ‘write for fifteen minutes’. In college I switched back and forth between Art and writing and continued this in my later life with a greeting card business and then a silk painting business. The writing began sometime later.

Today I want to talk about memoir writing, since it seems to be of interest to many who seek to be writers. It is where I thought I was headed when I embarked on Emily’s class. My father was in prison camp for three and a half years in WW2 and I had hoped to use his journals to write a book, not about my life, but about his and my mother’s life. I managed 400 pages after crying my way through my father’s heartbreaking journals. He lived to tell the tale, but what he experienced was almost too much to read, much less to live through.

At that point I gave up on the journal, deciding instead to write a little fantasy to take my mind off the emotional impact of what my father had endured. I picked three words as a writing prompt and started writing. What came out of that little exercise was one incredibly long novel that I divided into three. After finding an editor and learning tons about what writing really was, I found that I was addicted. Perhaps that will happen to you? You never know where writing will lead—that is the fun of it.

So, to get down to the gist of this article—to write a memoir you only have to pick a certain time period in your life. It isn’t an autobiography, which means you could write many of them having to do with certain times in your life that either changed you, or marked a time when you learned something profound, or just stood out in your mind as important. It could be a year long period of time, or a decade or more. It’s up to you.

I have a writer friend who has read all about memoir writing and has taught a class on it. She picked a certain formulaic process to follow described by some writer whose name escapes me. When I explained how I was handling mine, she told me I was wrong before explaining the rules to me. And since I don’t believe in rules, I ignored her. Mine reads in first person and in third, depending on the immediacy of what I’m writing about. For instance, in writing about my mother from the perspective of a six- year-old, it is my voice in the first person with many exclamation marks. I don’t shirk from the emotions that I remember, which I believe makes it much more relatable and interesting to a reader. It’s the adage of “show don’t tell” that I’m talking about here. Here is an article which I recommend.

Approach your project like you’re writing fiction—and have fun with it. What it is NOT is: I grew up in blah and went to school in blah and then we traveled to blah blah blah—make it interesting to your readers, a slice of your history that you want to share because it did something to you—breathe life into it by using your own voice and enthusiasm.

That’s it for now. If you would like more of this sort of writing you will find it here. I am not famous, but I have been writing for 30 years and have self-published thirty books. Why I decided to self-publish is a story for next time.

Thanks for reading! and please feel free to reach out with comments or questions.

2026 Year of the Firehorse

“Led mostly by his heart and his passions, this is the wildest and most volatile of Horses. The Fire Horse is exceptionally intelligent and has a brilliant personality. He is most courageous, most willing to take on several different things at the same time and to take risks – whatever will keep his heart pumping! Not one for practicality or caution, the Fire Horse will pummel his way through by sheer force and willpower to get what he wants. He is highly competitive, always trying to raise the bar and set higher and higher goals for himself. This drive can be good… until he gets bored or totally offends others who don’t agree with his plans.

As the Horse’s own fixed element is Fire, people born in the year of the Fire Horse will be twice as fiery! This means they are highly excitable and constantly on the move, with the exceptional gift of being able to react quickly and deftly to any number of situations.

However, the volatile nature of Fire makes them highly distracted and inconsistent in their actions. It is difficult for them to focus on anything unless it provides constant challenges and stimulation. He will have great ideas and fantastic abilities, but not the tenacity to see things through to the end. It also means they can have a very explosive, hot temper. At their worst, Fire Horses can be very destructive, channeling their huge reserve of energy and power to negative or harmful ends.

Life Lessons:

The Fire Horse could do with putting out the fire every now and then and learning to cool off and slow down, or he could well burn himself and others out. He is already highly intelligent and capable – now make the most of it by developing greater perseverance to see things through to the end.”

What I am hoping is that this year will bring is CHANGE--major change. I am hoping this firehorse does not describe our current regime! We need fire but not the fire we've had that burns everything in it's path and destroys everything good. We need inner wisdom fire, the kind that draws on ethical behavior, and quick decision making in the changing of the guard. There is no heart in the current government, no passion, only hate and the need for more destruction of everything good.

This past year has been hard to get through and with the changes wrought, this next year could be worse for many people. Our system has been broken, our safety net dismantled. But if we can stop these people, we have a chance to make things better. Will we stop them? I feel the energy building against what's happening in our country, I feel the momentum. We are angry, frustrated and ready for something new!

We moved to Arcata in August and are working on the house we bought. It needs a lot of work. My writing has been left on the back burner. I need to get back to it--it grounds me and keeps me going. Without it I become disheartened. Arcata is a healing place, with ocean, marsh and lots of birds and frogs and ducks. We have bears in our neighborhood. I have yet to see one but I know they're here byh the trash cans turned over! We have a redwood forest right behind our house. All of this makes my heart sing. I have vowed to leave politics behind and 'be here now'--to be grateful for what I have, which is a lot. My grandson lives here and we see him often which is wonderful. There is much to be grateful for. It's hard though, because I care about the destruction of our environment and worry about the future for my grandchildren.