> Soft science fiction takes scientific concepts and theories and bases itelf on their practical applications. Things such as warp drive, hyperspace / subspace and jump drive are all based in Einstein’s timespace and related concepts. Specifically, warp drive and jump drive are all based around gravitational bending of timespace being used to move the space ship is part of instead of the ship itself – the ship thus travels faster than light without moving faster than light. Hyperspace is based on moving from realspace into theoretical dimension where distances are significantly reduced, and then popping back up.

I don't consider warp drive or hyperspace travel "soft" sci-fi at all. These things are still in the domain of mere speculation, however much "theory" you throw at them. On the other hand, laser weapons can be considered "soft", since we already have working prototypes. Albeit, they still aren't practical in the sense that laser weaponry is portraited in movies.

I believe it's hard to write convincing science fiction. There are many required know-hows to write quality works based on futuristic science. Writers often jump into pit-falls trying to incorporate speculative theories and pseudo-science into their work.