7 Realistic Fiction Books That Help You Improve Your Writing

If your writing lacks energy, a quick way to improve is to read a well-written novel while actively taking notes. You don’t need advanced training – just a book that demonstrates strong writing techniques, like realistic dialogue and vivid, detailed scenes. Focus on copying the specific choices the author makes to achieve those effects.

Even if you occasionally use online help with essays, your unique writing style is still important in everyday communication like emails, social media posts, and personal stories. We’ve gathered seven books with practical exercises to help you improve your writing skills. Choose one tonight and start working on a single scene to practice!

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini: Use consequence to drive scenes

Hosseini skillfully keeps his stories engaging by showing how one event naturally leads to another. A character’s choice creates a new challenge, and the next scene shows them dealing with it. This demonstrates that you don’t need elaborate action sequences to drive a narrative; simply making sure each scene has meaningful consequences for your characters is enough to keep the story moving forward.

Here’s a helpful chart you can add to your notes, particularly when analyzing how the plot unfolds in realistic fiction novels.

Write the scene’s choice in one sentence.
Write the cost of that choice in one sentence.
Write the next forced decision in one sentence.
Write what the character loses if they stall.

Next, write a brief scene showing the character attempting to avoid a payment or expense, but ultimately failing. This unsuccessful attempt will then drive the next part of the story.

A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini: Show care through behavior

This novel demonstrates love and fear through what characters do, not through what they say. It focuses on their consistent actions and the little chances they take.

Try this writing exercise: create a dramatic scene and include a small act of kindness that doesn’t resolve the central problem. Think of things like holding a place for someone, offering a snack, or mending their clothes. Keep it short and subtle – don’t point it out, let readers pick up on it themselves.

For realistic fiction that helps readers understand emotional control, this book is a great choice. It shows, rather than tells, allowing you to learn about characters’ feelings through their actions.

Normal People, by Sally Rooney: Make subtext do the heavy lifting

Rooney’s writing showcases the power of subtlety in dialogue. Characters rarely say exactly what they mean, often stumbling over their words or trailing off, creating a realistic feel. Despite this indirectness, the conversations remain easy to follow because each scene has a clear purpose and underlying tension.

Try this on your own dialogue:

Write the scene with everyone saying exactly what they mean.
Rewrite it with each character protecting one vulnerable point. They can change the subject, joke, or answer a different question.
Remove one explanatory line that tells the reader what to think, and replace it with a physical action.

Your dialogue will usually get sharper after step three.

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt: Anchor long stories with repeatable cues

Donna Tartt is skilled at moving a story through time without confusing the reader. She does this by consistently using details like locations, objects, and daily habits to keep us grounded. When these details shift, it naturally indicates changes in the character’s life, often without needing to be explicitly stated.

Here’s a writing exercise: Choose an object your character owns and write four short scenes, each set a year apart. In each scene, show the object in a new location and with a changed significance. These subtle changes will help you demonstrate realistic character development through small details.

Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng: Control viewpoint

Ng skillfully presents stories from different points of view. Each new perspective reveals fresh details and alters how readers understand what’s happening. Even in shorter works, shifting viewpoints can be effective if done intentionally.

Use this checklist:

Open with a clear location and time. Make it easy to picture.
Stay close to one character’s interpretation for most of the scene.
End the scene on an action that can be misunderstood by someone else.

That last move creates natural tension because the next viewpoint has something to react to.

The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger: Build voice from consistency

Holden’s distinctive way of speaking is effective because he establishes familiar patterns, then intentionally disrupts them. He consistently uses specific words, makes similar observations, and maintains a certain flow. This consistency is what makes his shifts in tone or thought feel significant.

Here’s a helpful writing exercise: first, write a paragraph from the perspective of someone who complains about everything. Then, in a second paragraph, have that same character unintentionally show what’s actually important to them.

Michael Perkins, the lead writer at essaywriters.com, suggests a helpful technique for developing a compelling narrator’s voice. He recommends reading a short chapter twice. The second time, highlight any lines that reveal the character’s motivations or emotional tone. Then, rewrite a couple of those lines in your own style, maintaining the original meaning but using different wording.

This skill teaches you to understand a character’s true intentions beyond what they say, and it also helps you create a consistent and believable voice for them throughout your story.

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald: Replace vague language with specificity

F. Scott Fitzgerald excels at using specific details to reveal what you need to know about characters and situations, allowing readers to form their own opinions. This technique isn’t just for novelists – you can use it to make your writing clearer and more impactful in any context, from essays and stories to professional emails.

Use this specificity swap list in your revision pass:

Replace “things” with the exact object.
Replace “nice” or “bad” with the exact behavior you saw.
Replace “a lot” with a number, a time span, or a single clear example.
Replace one abstract sentence with an image the reader can picture.

Do this once per page, not everywhere.

In Closing

Forget complicated writing rules. What you really need is a great book to inspire you, a helpful writing method, and the courage to start a new page.

If you’re stuck with your writing, try reading from this list to find inspiration. Having trouble with realistic dialogue? Read some Sally Rooney to learn how she implies meaning without stating it directly. Are your scenes losing focus? Study how Lisa Ng builds tension by ending on ambiguous actions. If your writing feels unclear, try a technique inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald: replace a vague sentence with a vivid, descriptive one.

Then stop researching and write one short scene the same day. That is where the upgrade happens.

These adult fiction books offer practical writing prompts and exercises—ideas you can try, adapt, and build on until you develop your unique writing style.

2026-01-19 20:46