►1. Renders reality closely and in
comprehensive detail.
►2. Characters appear in their real
complexity of temperament and motive; They are in
explicable relation to nature, to each other, to their social class, to their
own past.
►3. Character is more important than
action and plot; Complex ethical choices are often the subject.
►4. Events will usually be plausible.
Realistic novels avoid the sensational, dramatic
elements of naturalistic novels and romances.