Update
Hey Cuz,
You hear that Grandma was home alone during the recent earthquake? My dear, we called her as soon as the phone lines were up, and she sounded so calm. She felt slight movement, but was safe throughout. We’re so grateful she was quite alright. That’s one more story she can write about! 😀
Speaking of her literary pursuits, Grandma’s book of cherished memories has now passed the 60 page mark! Her stories are even getting a bit longer, now that she’s reliving having her first child and her early days as a mother. She’s adding more detail which she may have mentioned at one time or other, but I don’t remember hearing these stories quite like this.
Question
There are a few phrases Grandma uses in her writing that are not grammatically correct, but they sound like her voice, reminiscent of how you’d hear it in Portland. Like in the section below when she says ‘our landlady decided to care the baby for us’. I could change it to care for, and the squiggly lines would go away. But would the nuance change, you think? I’m wondering if I’m being too sentimental here and not doing my job as an editor. Read it and lemme know what you think please. 🙏
Have a great day cuz!
I like it as is. The voice feels true. I love the little things that make a person’s speech unique, and this example captures that beautifully. It follows its own rules of grammar, informed by a lifetime of experiences, which to me makes it even more correct than if it were to follow someone else’s rules. It’s interesting to think about how much personality has been lost to the standardization of languages. Cheering you both on, Writer and Editor. I can’t wait to read this book!
Go ahead and change it. For cases where the adjustment would cause the spirit of the sentence to change and the nuance and intent (of grams voice) to be missed - leave it be