EU Writing Rules #2

Here is the EU Writing Rule #2

Remember That You are Writing for Star Wars

This is a simple concept. Star Wars is a genre of story unto itself. It is action-serial pulp set in Space. It is adventure with a bit of romance and humor tossed in. There is a certain feel that a good Star Wars story should have.

What happens is sometimes people tend to view Star Wars more as a "Universe" where a bunch of stories can take place - and you can set stories in the Star Wars Universe that don't feel like Star Wars. Some of the early Bantam novels fell into this trap - you had some very witty and engaging Science Fiction novels that explore some great themes -- but stopped feeling like Star Wars.

Now, of course, there are places where other ideas merge into Star Wars. The very first scene of Star Wars plays off of classic Sci-Fi (that Star Destroyer is jaw dropping). The Cave Scene of Empire is right out of a psychological thriller. However, these are flavors - not the main focus.

Keep your Star Wars feeling like Star Wars -- not like some other sort of Novel with a bit of Star Wars sprinkled on it.