moore became a columnist for "clark's horse review" in 1885. he took the penname of "trotwood" after betsey trotwood, a character in charles dickens's "david copperfield". his column, called "pacing department", included short stories, poems and local histories. in 1897, moore decided to publish a collection of his columns, entitled "songs and stories from tennessee". four years later, in 1901, he published his first novel "a summer hymnal". over the years, moore published several other novels.