What is verisimilitude?
I read a somewhat popular book recently by an author I’d read and really enjoyed previously. I was excited to devour the novel, but was bitterly disappointed with the ending. Why? It just didn’t make sense. It didn’t ring true. There’s no way the protagonist would have come to that decision. The novel lacked verisimilitude.
Verisimilitude is defined as “the appearance of being true or real.” According to an article from MasterClass, “It is also one of the most essential literary devices of fiction writing. Verisimilitude helps to promote a reader’s willing suspension of disbelief. When using verisimilitude in writing, the goal is to be credible and convincing.”
When I was studying Creative Writing in Ireland, my professors talked often about verisimilitude. Similar to the ideas expressed in the MasterClass article, they stressed that “Fiction writers need to know how to use verisimilitude in order to draw readers in by resembling reality.”
There are two types of verisimilitude in fiction:
Cultural verisimilitude. This refers to the overall plausibility of a work of fiction in the context of “real life” in the “real world.”Generic verisimilitude. This refers to the overall plausibility of a work of fiction in the context of its own genre. No matter how outlandish the world of your story is, it should feel real to the reader.How to Use Verisimilitude in WritingProvide specific, concrete sensory details. This is true of ALL writing. Human beings process information through our five senses, so creative writing MUST use the senses to connect to and inform the reader.Focus on emotions that are true to your characters. Just because your characters have access to powerful magic, technology, or resources does not mean they don’t experience the same emotions as regular people. Recently, I read a novel that lacked verisimilitude because the character made a decision that did not make sense in terms of the “real world.”Incorporate the familiar alongside the unfamiliar. Keeping the reader grounded in details and situations they recognize is just as important as introducing new and interesting elements.Avoid technical mistakes. If you’re writing about the real world, get the facts straight. That’s why research is so important. Currently, I’m researching three novel ideas to determine which one would be best to pursue. I also have to read books in the genre to help shape the structure in conjunction with the plot points.Take time to cover objections. If something in your world lacks verisimilitude on purpose, allow your characters to notice that it isn’t right for them either.
But my professors also readily admitted that stories are supposed to be inventive, imaginative; writers should be able to tell whatever stories they want. Stephen King, who has made a fortune writing whatever he wants, address this conundrum with the succinct mantra: “Reality is Ralph.” His stories are notoriously fantastical and in his near-perfect novel Lisey’s Story, his main character Scott Landon is a wildly popular fantasy/horror/science fiction writer (sound familiar?). “‘Reality is Ralph,’ Scott Landon says, referring to a strange-but-true newspaper article about a border collie that returns home after three years. ‘Reality was a drunk buying a lottery ticket, cashing out to the tune of seventy million dollars, and splitting it with his favorite barmaid. A little girl emerging alive from a well in Texas where she’d been trapped for six days. A college boy falling from a fifth-floor in Cancun and only breaking his wrist. Reality was Ralph.’”
So how does verisimilitude come into play when truth is stranger than fiction? I read an article about a young woman who committed suicide by jumping from the top of the building after surviving years earlier when her mother jumped from the top of the building with her in her arms. I read another article about a couple arrested while pushing body parts down the street in a stroller. We all know and have read and shared stories like this, where reality is stranger than fiction. Why does a writer have to play by any rules when what really happens in real life is crazier than any imagined story?
Because readers need a buy-in. People can digest nearly anything as long as they have somewhere solid to place their feet. I think that’s why people become obsessed with motive during murder cases. For most it’s unfathomable to take another human life … unless there’s a good reason. People want, almost need, to know why. Dahmer, Bundy, Wuornos, Gein all committed horrible, terrible, mind-boggling atrocities and remain fascinating figures because people want to know why. What went wrong? We’re looking for cultural verisimilitude, we’re looking for surreal events to fit in neatly with the world around us.
That’s where fiction comes in. Verisimilitude is important, no doubt, but there’s enough wiggle room for authors and artists and creators to offer possible and plausible reasons for why life gets crazy. That’s the beauty of writing.
The post What is verisimilitude? appeared first on mandi bean: writer.
