Board Thread:Translation Corner/@comment-18812574-20140111064008

(Not sure if this belongs here or not, but let's give it a try.)

What is your opinion on using honorifics in prose? I am currently having some trouble with the story I'm writing right now. I can't figure out if I should try to eliminate them completely, or use them minimally, or use them extensively. I know personal preference has a lot to do with it, but is there some hints/words of advice that you would give?

So far, for example, I've used "sensei," "teacher," and "instructor" interchangebly, although the characters in dialogue would only ever use "Sensei."

Older characters refer to my character by his last name, to try and give a better hint of the formality generally observed between him and his teachers. Even though I don't use honorifics here.

I haven't been using, for example, "Mr. Yamamoto" because that sounds extremely clunky to me. The few times I had to use that I said "Yamamoto-san" or "Sato-san," but those can also seem hashed, I think.

Thoughts?  