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As a novelist, I'm always finding little goofy things which make me want to trip up. For some weird reason yesterday, I began to "worry" about the better way to spell honorifics (Mr., Ms., etc) in dialogue.

Now if it's in narrative (let's define this first) -- narrative is anything that's not spoken, but a description or other text in a novel, whereas dialogue is what's spoken in quotes by characters -- you can say:

I saw Ms. Wilson leave the restaurant.
and
Mr. Phillips entered the shop.
which we all agree is correct.

but in dialogue?

"Please take your time, Mr. Johnson. There's no rush."
or
"Please take your time, Mister Johnson. There's no rush."

which is correct? And before you decide, the word "mister" is easy, since its spoken sound is the exact same as what we read in narrative. But how about the honorific "Mrs."? How do you spell it in dialogue?

"I think we're fine, Mrs. Johnson."
or
"I think we're fine, Missus Johnson."

When obviously the "Missus" may be phonetically appropriate but it's not really a standard English word, more like slang or dialect, right? Same for "Ms. Kent" versus, what, "Mizz Kent?"

Every find yourself in a dilemma over nothing really? I did, ha ha.
Your feedback?

Interesting question! It made me wonder, so I did some searching and found out, among other things, that Mrs. is actually a contraction of the word Mistress. I think I knew that once upon a time, but I haven't thought about it in quite awhile!

I actually don't use the phonetics and instead use "Mr" or "Ms" in dialogue, but it is something fun to ponder while trying to get to sleep, eh?

moderntimes wrote:it is something fun to ponder while trying to get to sleep, eh?

Or while you're supposed to be thinking of something else that's driving you batty

Yeah, welcome to my crazed dreams.

mostly i use Mr.

I would use Mr. in dialog except when the speaker is stressing the word. As in, "Well aren't you wonderful, Mister Jones."

shoot, now "mister" looks misspelled.

I would suggest using Mr., Mrs., Ms.... rather than spelling it out. I know as a reader it is more visually pleasing and conforms with the written language I see everyday. If you were to use Mister, visually, it would throw me off. I would probably briefly note your choice, then move on so at the end of the day, it is your decision, but I prefer Mr. verses Mister.

WickedWriter42 wrote:I would suggest using Mr., Mrs., Ms.... rather than spelling it out. I know as a reader it is more visually pleasing and conforms with the written language I see everyday. If you were to use Mister, visually, it would throw me off. I would probably briefly note your choice, then move on so at the end of the day, it is your decision, but I prefer Mr. verses Mister.

I agree, it would throw me off. I actually don't remember reading any books that use Mister instead of Mr. and Mistress instead of Mrs. would seem extremely weird.

Thanks for your help on this one.

Vermont Reviews

Use Mr. only before a name, for example: "Hello, Mr. Jones." Mister seems most appropriate when it stands alone: "Hello, Mister."

chgo919 wrote:Use Mr. only before a name, for example: "Hello, Mr. Jones." Mister seems most appropriate when it stands alone: "Hello, Mister."

This is how I was taught. When it's written out, "Mister" is considered their name and capitalized just like you would "Jim". This is mostly used when their actual name isn't known and you're too polite to say, "Hey, you!". When you do know their name and want to show them respect by giving them a title, then use "Mr. Jim".

In my reading I have almost exclusively seen Mr. Mrs. and Ms. used in dialogue. The only exception I've seen is when Mr. is used in a sarcastic manner, such as "Listen here, Mister!"

Steph K wrote:In my reading I have almost exclusively seen Mr. Mrs. and Ms. used in dialogue. The only exception I've seen is when Mr. is used in a sarcastic manner, such as "Listen here, Mister!"

Precisely my thoughts on the topic. Spelling it out works when using it in a sarcastic manner or for emphasis. It also works when addressing a person without using the person's name. For example, "Come here Mister!" would definitely be preferable to "Come here Mr!"

I agree with Vivian Paschal but would also add that "Mister" can convey the charceter of the person speaking. When I read that word (or the more rare "Missus" or "Miss"), I picture the speaker either as someone who is very young or perhaps naive or unsure of themselves. They're still spelling out the whole word in their speech rather than using the accepted conventions. This way, an author can convey more meaning by paying attention to the actual language in the dialogue