Writing Excuses 8.26: Space Opera

This week's episode covers the perjoratively-named sub-genre, space opera. These are adventure stories in which the setting is futuristic, but in which the science is secondary. The lines are blurry, as they are with any definition of genre, but we're pretty sure that Howard writes space opera. A possible definition? Space Opera is when the author uses science to justify the cool stuff he or she has come up with. We talk about the decisions that go into writing a space opera, how Howard has gone about it, and what you might focus on in order to write a compelling, adventurous romp. Pithy Howardism: "If I pee far, it's because I stand on the shoulders of giants."