Download Verisimilitude

The appearance of being true or real.
 The appearance or semblance of truth;
likelihood; probability
 Something, as an assertion, having
merely the appearance of truth.
 In a literary work, verisimilitude is likeness
to the truth i.e. resemblance of a
fictitious work to the real event even if it
is a far-fetched one.
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 “Verisimilitude
in fiction doesn’t
mean that you create the illusion
of reality. It means that you create
the illusion of a reality.”
-Bruce Holland Rogers (awardwinning American short fiction
writer)
 The
theory of verisimilitude comes
from Platonic and Aristotelian
dramatic theory called “mimesis”.
According to this theory, a work
of art should convince the
audience by imitating and
representing nature and having
basis in reality.
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The theory of verisimilitude lead to the idea
of “suspension of disbelief” or “willing
suspension of disbelief” a term coined in
1817 by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He was of
the opinion that if a writer was able to fill his
work with a “human interest and a
semblance of truth,” the readers would
willingly suspend or delay their judgment in
relation to the doubtfulness of a narrative.
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Realistic dialogue
Research (be an expert)
Believable Characters (dialogue, actions,
attitudes, descriptions, etc.)
Realistic setting (except sci-fi/fantasy)
Use the right words (nomenclature)
Details
Refer to pop culture (real or invented)
Avoid anachronisms (unless it adds to your
purpose)
When in doubt “make it a good lie” (Rogers).
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The film Gravity
Summary: “In 2014/2015, bio-medical engineer Dr.
Ryan Stone is a Mission Specialist on her first space
shuttle mission, STS-157. She is on a spacewalk
repairing a panel on the Hubble Space Telescope,
accompanied by veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski,
who is commanding his final expedition. Mission
Control suddenly instructs them to abort their
spacewalk and return to the STS. Houston tells them
that debris from a Russian missile strike on a defunct
satellite has caused a chain reaction, destroying
other satellites, and a huge debris field is heading
right at them. Within a couple of minutes, they lose
contact with Mission Control.” Thus begins their battle
to stay alive and get home to Earth.
Google.com
 Literarydevices.net
 Dictionary.reference.com
 Flashfictiononline.com
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