cstross, #writersCoffeeClub 5/8: When writing technical or scientific detail, how much is plausible vs imagined?
Correctly depicting the background details in an SF/F story makes the utterly imaginary conceit at the heart of the story more plausible—it gains believability by being presented in a realistic context. (The best present-setting SF should leave you unsure how much, if any of it is imaginary.)