Although I was the sort of student at
Elementary School (1954-1962) who clapped when the teacher gave a written
assignment, I did not enter the profession of writing until after I retired as
a school teacher in 1999. Before that time my need to create and record
information was met daily through my numerous tasks in the classroom. I was
also hired on several occasions to write units of study, newsletters, and
lesson plans. All this was done along with written preparations and term papers
assigned for the three college degrees I completed. This also served to meet my
needs while leaving little time for other kinds of writing.
It was on a fluke that I responded to a small
ad for a writer in a local newspaper in 2007. I was hired on the spot after the
editor looked at samples of my writing. I went on to work for the Knoxville Journal Newspaper until it
closed in 2014.
Along the way, I also wrote ten books. Most
are local history. Two are sizzling novels. After the newspaper closed, area
writers began hiring me to help edit their manuscripts—a job I still do on
occasions.
My grandmother used to say, “It is not
bragging if you are stating facts.” My books have sold all around the world in
many countries and on six continents. One of my books, “Watermelon for Everyone,” was judged as the “Best Cookbook in the
World About Watermelon” in 2014 from Gourmand Magazine in Madrid, Spain.
According to my blog, most of my fans live in France, England and Spain.
It was during a visit with my second cousin
(by marriage) LaShawn Baxter that the thought popped into my mind that we
should record the history of Leoma. She readily agreed and we took off on this
journey and have not looked back.
The writer’s approach to how a book or story
is written is known as “The Voice.” For a writer, figuring out which voice to
use in order to tell your story is a huge part of the book and can make it or
break it.
The Voice can be third person, meaning an
omnipotent, Magic Man or Woman in the Sky, who knows not only all the actions,
but also the thoughts and motives of each person in the story. This method is
frequently used by those writing mysteries or dramas and also by those writing
history.
An autobiographical approach is also used by
many writers who set out to tell the events he/she witnessed. In this approach,
the history of the place and events surrounding it, is told through the eyes of
a person who lived it. Many say this is the best kind of history, but even
those of us who attended the same event will come away with a different version
of what happened. History can be confusing. This autobiographical approach was the one used by
Cenith Freemon, a writer who recorded a history of Leoma, as she saw history
through the lives of her relatives. It is a typical and quite useful writing
method.
Simply assembling maps, photos, post cards,
letters, newspaper articles, and other historic documents in some kind of
chronological order is another way to approach the task of accurately recording
history. This method is expected as most folks think. “A picture is worth a
thousand words.”
For our history book about Leoma, we are
using both the assembling and the autobiographical methods. We are telling history through images and the
written work of others while including memories of our families.
As our
manuscript grows we have found that we need help with specific data. We are
asking for anyone who might have documents or photos for any of the topics on
the following list to please contact LaShawn Baxter at the Lawrence County Advocate or stop by the Lawrence County Archives
and Kathy Neidergeses will scan your copies and return to you.
Martha Rose Woodward e mail Sunspherebook@aol.com
We need:
Family photos; group
school photos, photos of Leoma
Elementary School from 1950s to 1970s.
Photos of any and all
former buildings located in Leoma and historic homes in Leoma.
Photos of any churches,
inside and out, located in Leoma.
