TIme Machine Error on new MacBook

When I try to run time machine, I am receiving an error message:
Time Machine Error
Unable to complete backup. An error occurred while
copying files to the backup volume
The background is this. My wife and I had been using time machine with a MacBook on an external USB drive with no problems. Then I bought a new MacBook and used time machine to transfer my own files and folders. Time machine continues to work fine for her MacBook. When I tried to use the same external drive for my new MacBook I received the error message above. Then tried to run it manually but got the same error. Then I (I now know) made a mistake and attempted to erase fix the problem by erasing all of the old time machine backups using the finder.
At first, I thought that killed the external drive, but then I connected the old Macbook and ran time machine on the old MacBook - no problem! I then ran Disk Repair verify and it found the external drive to be fine. Oddly enough, when I then connected the new Macbook, time machine did a successful full backup of the new Macbook and later one successful incremental backup on the new Macbook. Just when I thought all was fine, time machine then began generating the error again on the new MacBook (though, so far, it still works fine on the old MacBook).
Before giving up and buying another external drive to use for time machine on the new Mac, I came to this forum, saw a post about the time machine buddy widget, and so here is the message from that:
Starting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb
No pre-backup thinning needed: 265.9 MB requested (including padding), 343.49 GB available
Error writing to backup log. NSFileHandleOperationException:* -[NSConcreteFileHandle writeData:]: Permission denied
Copied 0 files (0 bytes) from volume Macintosh HD.
Error writing to backup log. NSFileHandleOperationException:* -[NSConcreteFileHandle writeData:]: Permission denied
Copy stage failed with error:11
Error writing to backup log. NSFileHandleOperationException:* -[NSConcreteFileHandle writeData:]: Permission denied
Backup failed with error: 11
Stopping backupd to allow ejection of backup destination disk!
Any thoughts for something I could try?
Thanks.

I wouldn't mind re-formatting the external drive, but before I do -- is it reasonable to think that I should be able to use the same external hard drive for time machine backups for two different Macs? It sure seems as if I should be able to, but I just thought I would ask. Thanks.

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