Jessica

Jessica asked Ann Leckie:

Thank you for taking me on an impeccable journey. Could you share some advice for writers on the process of world building? How did you excavate such a detailed and specific world?

Ann Leckie So, worldbuilding can be a lot of work. But I try to see where things are linked together--and also to keep mundane details in mind. What are people eating, and how? How did they get that food and who prepared it? What are people wearing and does that maybe say something about their cultural background, or their position in society? Just those, put together, give you a kind of rudimentary skeleton to start hanging things on,. It also helps to look at a variety of historical and existing societies and see how those things (and other little details) fit together in a pattern.

It's a long, slow process though, with a lot of fiddly "oh this would be cool...no, wait, it doesn't really work there" moments.

More Answered Questions

A Goodreads user

A Goodreads user asked Ann Leckie:

Hello, Miss Leckie, I have a question of a linguistic nature: how exactly does one pronounce "Radch" and "Radchaai"? I'm assuming the -aai suffix is pronounced /aːj/ (using IPA). But how exactly is "Radch" pronounced? As I see it there's several options: /radx/, /radʃ/, /radʧ/, or /raʧ/. Could you please tell me which one it is, or if it's still different from what I surmised? Kind regards.

Sydney

Sydney asked Ann Leckie:

Hi! I was wondering if you have any strong feelings about people reading/purchasing your books in physical form vs in ebook form? Which format benefits you more?

Agnieszka

Agnieszka asked Ann Leckie:

Another question is; to me it seems there is a great potential for continuing the series. The ending is open and I would love to see more, I would love to wait another year just to see what happens next... Have you ever considered writing part four? Also Ancillary Mercy has been out for a month now, and I am looking forward to more interviews and gossip whether it will be turned into a TV show. Thank you for writing!

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