Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Verisimilitude

Verisimilitude: noun - apparently true or real, resemblanceto truth, reality, or fact; realistic quality, probability; a statement  that has the mere appearance or show of beingtrue or factual, an apparent truth.
'Most writers rely on verisimilitude to draw their readersinto the fictional world of their novels, hoping that their suspension ofdisbelief will carry them through the events of the book.'
The classical, literarynotion of verisimilitude focusses on the role of the reader engaging with thefictional work of art. The novel should offer a pleasurable experience to thereader by facilitating the reader's willingness to suspend disbelief. Verisimilitudeis the means of achieving this mindset. To promote the willing suspension ofdisbelief, fiction needs to be credible. Something that's physicallypossible in the worldview of the reader can be defined as credible. Throughverisimilitude, the reader can glean truth even in fiction because it reflectsrealistic aspects of life.
Pic: Humber estuary at Hessle, East Yorkshire.