A quote I’ve long used as my “guiding light” for writing fiction comes from Stephen King: “Fiction is a lie. Good fiction is the truth within the lie.”

For me, “truth” within the “lie” comes by way of verisimilitude: “noun: The appearance or semblance of truth… likelihood or probability. The play lacked verisimilitude. Something, as an assertion, having merely the appearance of truth.” *Dictionary.com

Verisimilitude in all facets of the story, from characters to locations to historical events to equipment and tactics of organizations, should provide a sense of reality/realism. Genre is immaterial, but genre often dictates the amount of research or personal knowledge/experience required to attain that all important sense of reality. Fantasy writers, for example, have the toughest time with verisimilitude. Not only must the world they’ve invented meet a strong realistic standard, but the creatures, characters, magic, and/or everything else has to mesh throughout the story, from start to finish.

I write thriller novels/novellas/short stories that often include several genres in each book; from science fiction to conspiracy theories, alternate history, spirituality/paranormal, and supernatural. It’s a good chance I’ll spend more time doing research than actually writing the book.

Here’s a general example:

John turned to face the stranger just as a shot rang out. The force of the .44 caliber bullet burning into his upper left chest and smashing his shoulder blade as it exited his body threw him against the wall. Blood smeared as his body sank to a sitting position in the hallway. The killer, confident of his kill approached John and leaned forward. A noise at the end of the hall distracted the killer, and John took the opportunity to grab the killer’s gun hand, yank him forward while simultaneously kicking him in the balls.

John turned to face the stranger just as a shot rang out. The force of the .44 caliber bullet burning into his upper left chest and smashing his shoulder blade as it exited his body threw him against the wall. Blood smeared as his unconscious body sank to the floor. The killer, confident of his kill approached John and leaned forward. A noise at the end of the hall distracted the killer. Worried that he might be identified, the killer ran for the door at the opposite end of the hall, leaving John to bleed to death.

The first paragraph is unrealistic. The force and destructive attributes of a .44 caliber bullet would have immediately rendered John unconscious and/or an extreme state of shock. There is no way he could defend himself, much less in the manner described in the first example.

A few years ago, I read a book by a relatively new author. Her book was a thriller that included terrorists and international organizations like the CIA and Interpol, etc. There were many battles, lots of different weapon systems and dialog between experts in their field; all of which were so far from believable that I was unable to finish the book and will never read another of her books.

Bottom line: Creating a realistic atmosphere for your readers is a must. Without realism, you’ve written fiction, but not GOOD fiction. You never know who is reading your books. In of the preceding paragraph, it was a twenty-one-year military veteran, and a twenty-three-year manager within the US Department of Defense who knew the subject matter very well.

Do the research, make sure you know your subject matter, your characters, and the world they live in and your readers will follow you through every book you write.