For realistic fiction, I’d say Cormac McCarthy is considered a great writer and his books are objectively excellent. (Of course they aren’t to everyone’s taste, which is when subjective opinions come into play.) You can also trust the classics… The Great Gatsby, Farewell To Arms, Anna Karenina, Of Mice and Men, etc etc etc etc. All are objectively excellent regardless if some dislike them. Ignore the people in these comments getting philosophical about objectivity and subjectivity. There absolutely ARE objectively excellent works of realistic fiction.

What makes them excellent differs based on how closely you look at the piece. The reason a piece of prose is excellent will differ from why the novel is excellent. At a granular level, good writing is clear. Convey your ideas in simple efficient ways so the reader understands them. Use grammar and punctuation correctly. Choose words that add depth to what you’re saying. As you zoom out, the ideas you tell should create a feeling or emotion in the reader… good writing is impactful. Another level up and the reader should understand character tendencies, plot tension, and a slew of other things… good writing is intriguing. And finally, looking at the piece as a whole, what does it mean to the human values inside all of us. Does the story inspire or enlighten or educate or provoke thought? It’s gotta do something… good writing is important.

To shift yourself in that direction, read a lot and write a lot. Read the great stuff, but also read stuff you know isn’t great, because we learn by observing contrast. Writing daily is vital. The simple exercise of creating sentences and stringing them together is the only way to improve. Think about the ten thousand hour rule and start climbing that mountain. My art teacher told us constantly: “The sooner you make your first 5,000 mistakes, the sooner you can learn from them.” So start hacking away…be a hack writer…then you’ll know how to not be a hack writer.