The Rhetorical Triangle, for Fiction Writers: An Introduction

We learn about the rhetorical triangle in high school and college English, and then we forget about it: the possibilities of utilizing the triangle for any kind of writing is often lost among the nightmares and general annoyances of the five-paragraph essay.

Yet as I grew as a teacher, as a professional editor, and as a creative writer, I discovered that classical rhetoric and creative writing actually have quite a lot of common, meaning those basic rhetorical tools can become great resources for writers.

This is the first article in a planned series that will explore how the simple concepts of the rhetorical triangle can be applied to different parts of building a novel.

We’ll cover—

• What is rhetoric?
• How does rhetoric relate to fiction?
• What is the rhetorical triangle?
• How can the rhetorical triangle be applied to your novel?

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What is rhetoric?

Rhetoric is defined by Merriam-Webster as “the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion.” It is the base of every first-year writing course in college, where you learn to write a “traditional academic essay” by utilizing Aristotle’s principles of communication: the rhetorical triangle, ethos, logos, and pathos (and a whole lot of other things, but this is what it boils down to).

How does rhetoric relate to fiction?

Look closely at the definition of rhetoric: It’s all about writing/speaking as a means of persuasion. In some circles (okay, mine; in my circle), this is called making an argument.

And what is fiction but an argument that your world and your characters are real, or at least worthy of the reader’s attention? The goal of fiction is to successfully suspend the reader’s disbelief—if only for a short time—and invite them to see the truth in the story you’ve created.

That, my friends, is persuasion.

What is the rhetorical triangle?

There are a lot of ways to depict the rhetorical triangle; my favorite is with simplicity—

The easiest way to understand the triangle is to realize that while the individual corners (message, author, audience) are important to understand on their own, each of these points is connected to the others: The relationships are symbiotic in nature, and a change in one will alter the others as well.

• Author: Who is the person speaking? What’s their background? What is their area of expertise, and why should the audience trust them?
• Audience: Who is the author speaking to? Who is the target audience (those the author is directly addressing), and who is the secondary audience (those who might happen upon the author’s message, or overhear it)? What is their relationship, if any, to the author and the message on hand?
• Message: Fairly straightforward; this point refers to what the text is saying: not only literally, but inferentially.

These three facets are commonly referred to for things like product promotion and academics: If you’re writing for social media, advertising, a research journal, etc., you must figure out what you, the author, have to offer; narrow down your audience; and then craft a unique message that reaches that audience. As an author, you’re trying to do the same thing (whether outside of your book, or in it).

After all, in each of these situations, you’re trying to persuade.

Yet these basic concepts of rhetoric tend to get forgotten when it comes to creative works, due to the rhetorical triangle’s association with academia and commercialism.

Which is a pity. Because the rhetorical triangle is a great resource to use when both writing and editing fiction, particularly when it comes to crafting effective characters and worlds.

How can the rhetorical triangle be applied to your novel?

There are many, many ways the rhetorical triangle can be used to help you flesh out your novel. Today, we’re looking at your novel as a whole.

Consider the following questions, which you’ve probably heard before:

• What is your story about?
• What are your story’s themes?
• Who is the intended audience?
• Why are you the best person to write this novel?

Now, rearrange these questions:

The best part of having these questions at the base of your novel is their simplicity: They’re not meant to be complicated, nor come with any complexity (yes, even the one about why you’re the best to write this novel!):

• What is your story about? Who is your character, what do they want, and what’s standing in their way?
• What are your story’s themes? What kind of journey is your character on?
• Who is the intended audience? Is this for children, teenagers, new adults, or adults? Narrow that category down further until you reach your ideal audience. Are the theme(s) appropriate for this audience?
• Why are you the best person to write this novel? This one might seem like a trick question, but take it simply: What unique perspective do you have that you’re bringing to your main character and your theme(s)? Why is this story so important to you that you feel the need to write it?

Remember: The concepts of the rhetorical triangle are symbiotic, meaning they each rely on and affect each other. This means you can use the conclusions of one (such as your themes) to inform another (such as your audience). Realizing this, it’s all a matter of making the right associations to understand your book better, and build it from the most basic concepts, to the most minute details.

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There are many more uses for the rhetorical triangle in novel writing, and I can’t wait to dive into them. In the meantime: What’s your relationship with the rhetorical triangle? Comment below, and share this post with a fellow fictioneer who also dreads the five-paragraph essay.

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