REALISTIC

FICTION
Creative Writing 12
 WHAT IS
REALISTIC
FICTION?
A realistic fiction is a story that seems real
or could happen in real life. It is set in
present day and includes modern day
problems and events.
CHARACTERISTICS OF REALISTIC FICTION
A quick way to classify a story or novel as realistic fiction is
to identify the following characteristics within that literary
work:
1. Realistic fiction stories tend to take place in the present or
recent past.
2. Characters are involved in events that could happen.
3. Characters live in places that could be or are real.
4. The characters seem like real people with real issues solved
in a realistic way.
5. The events portrayed in realistic fiction conjure questions
that a reader could face in everyday life.
 A KEY TO REMEMBER:
Realistic fiction attempts to por-
tray the world as it is. It contains
no fantasy, no supernatural ele-
ments, and it usually depicts or-
dinary people going about the
business of daily living, with all
its joys, sorrow, successes, and
Over the past 150 years, children's litera-
ture has gradually moved from a romantic
view of the world toward a more realistic
view. Subjects that were once taboo in re-
alistic fiction are now commonplace, and
language and character development are
presented with greater candor and bold-
ness.
 In good realistic fiction,

 the characters are engaging and believable.

 the dialogue is believable.
 the plot is fresh and original.
 the setting is true to life.
 the problems faced by the characters are hon-
estly portrayed.
 the resolution makes sense.
 the theme grows naturally out of the action and
characters - the writer does not preach at us.
EXAMPLES OF
LITERARY
PIECES UN-
DER REALIS-
TIC FICTION
GENRE
 John Green’s fourth novel,
The Fault in Our Stars, has
gained a following among
tween and teen readers. This is
partly due to its tragic love
story, but may also be due to
its thought-provoking subject
matter. The book explores
philosophical questions about
the meaning of life, death, and
suffering. While adults may find
the topics in this novel heavy
and too mature for children,
Green believes that young
The Fault in Our readers are probably already
Stars by John Green thinking about them.
 Diary of a Wimpy Kid, a
realistic fiction novel,
humorously describes
the troubles of being in
middle school and try-
ing to fit in with inte-
grated text and draw-
ings. This is the first
book in the immensely
Diary of a Wimpy Kid popular Diary of a
by Jeff Kinney Wimpy Kid series.
 Every April, when the wind blows from the sea and
mingles with the scent of lilacs, Landon Carter re-
members his last year at Beaufort High. It was
1958, and Landon had already dated a girl or two.
He even swore that he had once been in love. Cer-
tainly the last person in town he thought he’d fall
for was Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of the
town’s Baptist minister. A quiet girl who always
carried a Bible with her schoolbooks, Jamie
seemed content living in a world apart from the
other teens. She took care of her widowed father,
rescued hurt animals, and helped out at the local
orphanage. No boy had ever asked her out. Lan-
don would never have dreamed of it. Then a twist
of fate made Jamie his partner for the homecom-
ing dance, and Landon Carter’s life would never
be the same. Being with Jamie would show him
A Walk to Remember by the depths of the human heart and lead him to a
Nicholas Sparks decision so stunning it would send him irrevocably
on the road to manhood.
 THE END.
Delos Santos, Ivy P.
Mangulabnan Angelie
Cipriano, John Gilbert P.
Creative Writing 12