Writing is never easy, even for those who make a living out of it. It is a skill that takes years to develop and refine. Many find writing intimidating. But for those who can work past the intimidation and grow in confidence, the occupation can be quite fulfilling.

Nancy Nichols said that she finds writing difficult and
always has.

“My biggest low was probably writing my first food story,” Nichols said.

“I remember sitting at my desk at home and I was in a total panic attack. I was calling all my friends who were writers and I was just saying ‘Please write this for me. Please just tell me how to start it.'”

Nichols’ friends refused. They told her that she had to do it and to just start with a crappy
rough draft.

“I couldn’t, and I remember just sitting at my desk and sobbing until, finally, your back’s up against the wall and you have to get started,” Nichols said.

Flash forward 15 years and Nichols is now the food and travel editor for D Magazine. After working as a caterer in both Dallas and Los Angeles, Nichols was offered a job at D Magazine in the mid ’90s.

“The hardest part for me really and truly was getting the confidence to write what I thought,” Nichols said. “I knew what I thought, but it was just trying to make sentences out of it.”

Nichols was involved with the launch of D Magazine in 1974, but only for a brief time.

When she moved back to Dallas and ran into a friend still working at the magazine, he offered her a job as a food critic. Nichols, who describes herself as spontaneous, took the job and has been learning the ropes of the reporting world ever since.

“I had an innate reporter inside of me,” Nichols said.

“I was aware of the journalistic approach to reporting and research so I had that going for me as well.”

Even after 15 years, Nichols still faces difficulties
when writing.

She is now in charge of keeping a food blog on the restaurant scene in Dallas.

She said the blog is proving to be the most challenging aspect of her job because it forces her to think about writing in an hour-to-hour fashion, rather than the month-to-month pattern she is accustomed to.

Nancy is constantly looking around the Dallas food scene to report restaurant openings and closings, food gossip
and news.

When Nichols is critiquing a restaurant, she often uses the same sense of observation.

“Eating out for a job sounds great and it certainly has its benefits,” Nichols said.

“But it is work, and when I’m sitting at a table I’m looking at everything around the room. My eyes are constantly watching things, I’m asking questions, and trying to get a sense of the ambiance of the restaurant.”

Evan Grant, a sports writer for Dallas News and a close friend of Nichols, said that she provides a great
community service.

“Dining in Dallas is almost like a sport,” Grant said. “People are very interested and want to know what’s good.”

Grant believes Nichols is a trendsetter in how she reports on the entire dining experience of each restaurant and believes she has a forward way of thinking.

“I think she’s a real treasure for the community dining service in the Dallas/Fort Worth area,” Grant said.

In past years, Nichols has also written many travel pieces.

Nichols discovered an interest in traveling while she was still in college at the University of Texas at Austin in the early ’70s.

When she was in her mid thirties and living in Los Angeles, she “got bit.”

Nichols is a culturist and enjoys experiencing the culture of the places she visits.

“One of the greatest ways to learn the culture is through what they eat,” said Nichols.

Currently, Nichols’ favorite spot on the globe is Nicaragua.

She is writing a story on the construction and opening of the first five-star hotel, which will bring many more tourists to the area.

“I’d move to Nicaragua right now,” Nichols said. “It’s so beautiful. I’m in love with the place, because no one else knows about it.”

So far, Nichols has traveled to and eaten on six of the seven continents.

She has yet to visit Antarctica, but has expressed a desire to do so.

“I don’t know anything about it. I want to see what they have there, I want to go,” Nichols said.

“I’d like to go it just so that I can say I’ve eaten on all
of them.”