Choose a well-educated young lady as the main character. She may be timid or forceful, but she must be well-read and appreciate music or art.
Discuss the nature of each main character thoroughly. Austen's novels describe how a person, male or female, behaves in ordinary daily situations.
Work the dialogue. To write like Jane Austen, your dialogue must be plentiful, serious and well-expressed. Characters discuss their health, books, music, art, morality and each other.
Marry ladies only to the men they deserve in the end. A virtuous lady must wind up with a virtuous man. Immoral men may break their hearts in the beginning, but don't marry the innocent ladies to these dastardly creatures.
Set the novel in the country with brief and ill-fated excursions into the city. Describe the landscape and houses thoroughly and make them vital to the plot.
Suggest sexual attraction, but never portray it or the act overtly.
Be witty, ironic, understated, discreet and humorous. Avoid extravagance, blood and shocking coincidences.