The Origins of Project Hail Mary

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The details are where the originality lives, right? I remember when I was reading Project Hail Mary, I don't even know how one would begin to think about what it means to be a species that functions this way. The first planet in the 40 Eridani system is actually, it's a real planet and its name is like 40 Eridali capital A lowercase B because astronomers suck at naming things,. And so, you know, this is bit by bit how things came together. Nobody wants to read a 40 page Wikipedia article on Aridian biology.

Andy Weir is the bestselling author of The Martian and Project Hail Mary. He’s known for weaving deep, carefully researched science into his novels, building intricate sci-fi worlds that have captivated millions of readers. But here’s a plot twist: Andy doesn’t actually love the act of writing itself – so how does he motivate himself to do it anyway? Adam talks with Andy about the creative process, the skills involved in discarding bad ideas, finding joy in worldbuilding and research, and why you should never be writing with a sequel in mind. Transcripts for ReThinking are available at go.ted.com/RWAGscripts