When it's then, where is there?

Location, location, location!

In storytelling, the setting isn’t everything, but it’s a lot. If you’ve got a story with engaging, well-realized characters, but the mental image you get is little more than Lego Minifigs wandering around a three-year-old’s drawing, you’re probably going to put the story down without finishing it.

Science-fiction provides some interesting challenges, especially if you intend for the story to stay firmly grounded in the real world.For my upcoming novel Rogue Plane...