Prose is characterized by expressing the author's views and feelings and revealing its social significance through the description of some fragments or life events in real life. It can be processed and created on the basis of real people and events. It doesn't necessarily have complete stories and characters, but focuses on expressing the author's feelings about life, with flexible selection of materials and strong lyricism. The "I" in prose is usually the author himself; Language is not limited by rhythm, and its forms of expression are diverse. It can be combined with narration, discussion, lyricism and description, or it can be emphasized. According to the needs of content and theme, we can portray psychology, render the environment and set off the atmosphere by describing typical details such as life fragments, as in novels, and also create a certain artistic conception by using artistic techniques such as symbols, as in poems.
Novel is a literary genre that reflects life and expresses thoughts by portraying characters, telling stories and describing the environment. They are different.