The article deals with the technique of a realistic narrative in prose by Olena Pchilka. It is proposed to consider the narrative features of a writer's prose through the method of existential psychoanalysis, represented by the concept of Irvine Yalom: the principle "here and now". The most compelling works of realism are those whose events and heroes can not move in time and space, because they are rooted in the world "here and now". In most cases, the truth of the realists correlated with the disclosure of the imperfect reality of its social institutions, and only a few tried to solve the questions of truth as a fundamental existential problem at the level of psychology of the character. It is to these authors that Olena Pchilka belongs. Consciously, the guideline to master the technique of the image "here and now" gives grounds to consider Olena Pchilka as the pioneer of realism, a writer who, without breaking the tradition of a romantic narrative, was able to achieve a relaxed, objectified image, the effect of presence, which entails trust in the narrator and his created the world.