My take on Sci-Fi and realism, and opportunities for authors

As you may or may not know, I'm a late bloomer when it comes to studying. I'm a little over thirty and just started going to university, but it seemed the right thing to do after a decade of working and nothing much to show for it. When I first thought about what I'd like to study, I actually thought "Terraforming!", followed closely by "Exobiology!"
Unfortunately, both are years away from being even broached as a field of science. I could have gone with Astronomy, but I'm just not that much into physics and math, so there is that.
For me, Science Fiction holds unending fascination. It is almost a field of science by itself, albeit a broad one with lots of sharlatans and soothsayers. When humanity started its journey into the stars, those first steps were tentative and rather robust, but they fed the creative minds of two generations with so many possibilities and ideas, we are still benefiting from it and will be for a good ten more years.

Sci-Fi vs. Sci-ence

Let's be honest: Science hasn't got it easy these days. Most of the conventional theories don't allow much wiggling room, and after years and years of studying, some things are just too ingrained into the brains of a young scientist to offer much leeway for new ideas. Which leads us to the biblic saying, "blessed are the poor in spirit,[...]" and all the ideas that sci-fi authors unwittingly contributed to the progress of science. (I'm gonna bleed so much for this, I know. Sorry fellas!)
Don't get me wrong, though! I don't mean to imply that sci-fi authors are stupid. I'm saying that writing sci-fi stories has a superior advantage over scientific theories. If you don't know that something isn't supposed to work the way you're describing it, your mind goes free. Hyperdrive, warp speed, artificial gravity, teleportation, gender switching, implants,... everything is possible if you put your mind to it.
Adding to that, science has finally discovered ways to actually use all that creative energy to their advantage. Concepts for a working hyperdrive and artificial gravity are already in the works, being tested through application of "real" science and proving to maybe, probably, possibly, be made reality at one point.

Realism and good Sci-Fi

Which brings me to the next point of order, namely realism. The headline demands it!
Too much realism is a bad thing when it comes to Sci-Fi. Too little realism is a bad thing, too. If a story contains little to no familiar things, complicated concepts you'd need an engineering diploma for to understand them, a society focused on none of the dictums we value or dream of, it's unreadable to me.
Good Sci-Fi provides us with something to either strive for or beware of, a glimpse into possibilities and possible futures, and a handful of road signs how the author thinks it came to be that way. It also contains hints to the knowledge of the author, provides us with easy to understand concepts of how those new technologies work, and doesn't bother the reader with pages upon pages of tech-babble explaining in minute detail how that specific piece of space-miracle came to be.
The closer a sci-fi story is to reality, the better, because this makes it easy to slip into that mindset where a reader is able to imagine what is going on. Sci-Fi doesn't need to wow with unrecognizable societies, worlds or technology, and it doesn't have to play in the far future, it just needs to offer a new, different view with a good layer of technological advancements.

'scuse me, aren't you an erotica/romance author?

Ah, yes. What do Sci-Fi and Romance (or Erotica for that matter) have in common? My answer would be 'not much', but they do go well together. For me, exploring other genres, especially those that fascinate me on a day-to-day basis, is exciting and captivating. I love reading NASA's newest discoveries, hued photographs of planets, abstract concepts of newly discovered solar systems, all that theoretical stuff that makes my head go into daydreaming mode. Possibilities are always in the back of my head, just waiting for the right moment to attack.
When I was still studying biology, I attended this lecture about parasites and microbes and how a few species are able to mutate their hosts to better suit their needs. This was still on my mind when I sat in another lecture about the chromosomes of plants and how those with three sets of chromosomes are somehow more resistant to outer-space-radiation. Then it got boring and my mind went off on its own, weaving and spinning this idea for a story for the next hour and sending me on my way home slightly confused. All the way home through the rain, I tried to come up with a way to combine parasites, outer space and genetic mutation (both the involuntary and the voluntary kind) into something I might want to write, and when I finally arrived at my house, I sat down and simply went with it. This was my first actual attempt to write Sci-Fi, and within three months, my unhealthy fascination with all things space-y morphed into a 75k sci-fi romance named "Moonrise".
I'm usually a very slow writer, so this is exceptional speed for me. By comparison, "Shapeshifter" has just about as many words and took me four to six years to finish, and I invested a lot more heart and love into that story. This is what an opportunity looks like.

Take this away from my little ramble: If something keeps bugging you, pushing you, demanding your attention and ultimately offering you an idea, go with it. Don't think about it, just grab it and go crazy. It's worth it!