There are five areas of importance in crafting a Space Opera novel that cannot be ignored:

1. World-Building: The writer needs to develop a rich and expansive universe that includes diverse planets, star systems, cultures, and species. Perhaps a current example might be Ant-Man’s Quantum Realm.  The realm is vast and endless, yet Ant-Man enters and explores its giant world-building.  You must consider the history, politics, technology, ecosystems, and social structures of your world. World-building is a cornerstone of space opera, so pay attention to the intricate details that make your universe come alive.
2. Characterization: The need to create compelling and multi-dimensional characters, both human and alien, with unique personalities, motivations, and conflicts is a must to allow the reader to immerse themselves in the world-building.  Specific creatures, aliens, and villains are sometimes more enjoyable than the MC during a battle or dramatic moment.  Think of Frank Herbert’s worms, or the “Buggers” in Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.  In my novel Drayton’s Discoveries, I’ve created a character named Folki who is a Lokan, a highly intelligent water species.  

Here is a brief moment in the novel when Folki regains her water.

Folki slid into the water tank with relief etched in every pore of her dry skin.  The thirst her body craved was met as she submerged within the three-meter-deep tube.  As a Lokan, she lived most of her childhood underwater in the depths of one of the small Crion lakes of the southern continent on her home planet Loki.  If asked she would calmly repeat what her mother said so often, ‘warm water soaks the soul’.  

Her large round eyes remained open beneath the fluid and the cilia near her eyelids fluttered with the pool’s light pressure current circulating within the space.  She blinked and cleared the tiny bubbles drifting upward.

It was not her home pool, but it could regen her fluid levels easily.  Just an hour dip in the morning and evening refreshed her whole form.  Since her species was primarily aquatic she relaxed and let her invertebrate form spread and fill resembling a large thick blanket stuffed into the water.  Her body filled with captured air, and she squeezed some out to sink lower.  She let her extra tentacles drift and the two lower tentacles swayed slowly left and right to keep her floating.   

Hopefully, the reader can connect with your characters and their journeys the more you allow your imagination to spread into the layers of the novel.  As I navigated the complexities of the space opera setting, I was able to craft more and more scenes to expand the world I was creating.  Be on the lookout for Drayton’s Discovery this year.