Verisimilitude is the truthfulness and realism of a work, which can be achieved through strong internal logic. It was originally used to indicate how well a reader could observe reality, but now focuses on a writer’s effort to ensure reality in their work. Even fantastic works can retain realism, with technology and action feeling real to the reader. This can be achieved by building a rationale within the story to support even the most outrageous fictional creatures or devices.
Likelihood refers to how truthful or realistic a work, usually a work of literature, seems to the reader and often indicates that a work has a strong internal logic. This term comes from classical usage and was once primarily meant to be the locus of the reader or audience, who was responsible for seeing a work as realistic. It has since evolved, however, and has more recently been used to refer to the responsibility of the writer or narrator to ensure that the reality and honesty of a work is presented. Verisimilitude can be present in any type of work, including science fiction and highly fantastical stories.
The importance of verisimilitude lies in its relationship to how well a reader can be drawn into a story. The ancient use of the term “verisimilitude” derived from the Latin word for “truth” and continues to indicate the veracity of a work. It was originally used in reference more to the audience or reader, rather than the narrator. In this usage, it was intended to indicate how well someone could observe the reality or veracity of a work based on their worldview and thus allow the story to engage them.
The more recent understanding and use of verisimilitude, however, focuses on a writer’s or storyteller’s effort to ensure reality in his or her work. This is often created through strong internal logic within a story, regardless of the type of story being presented and the medium in which it is being told. An example of internal logic is the continuity between scenes in a story. The action in one scene must flow well into the next scene, and disjointed action that appears to lack cause and effect can destroy the verisimilitude of a work and negatively impact the reality of a story.
Even a fantastic work, such as science fiction or fantasy stories, can still retain realism and verisimilitude. Science fiction stories are often considered most effective when the technology and action of the story feel real to the reader. This doesn’t mean that the work has to be purely realistic with modern technology, but that the technology has to make sense to the reader and feel like it’s coming from a logical place. Such verisimilitude can often be created by a writer by considering “why” technology or social developments might take place in another world or reality and building a rationale within the story to support even the strangest and most outrageous fictional creatures or devices .
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