Made-Up Words: Just Curious

Italics? Hell i don't know how to indroduce em', but i sure as hell use my fair share!

Lately I've been italicizing any constructed words when first used, then never italicize them again. Such words are relatively rare: names for flora & fauna which don't exist in our world, for example. Unlike other conlangers, I look for ways to avoid putting my conlangs in my work, rather than the other way around. That way, only the words that need to be used appear in the text.

These words often appear without explanation and the reader must determine their meaning from context. After all, the characters and narrator know what their words mean--why would they infodump that to the reader? Every now and then I'll have the narrator describe something if it's crucial to the plot.

You could always write a glossary. Stephenson's forthcoming Anathem apparently has one, and he talks about it on Amazon.

Don't introduce it, just use it. But do make sure the context provides additional information.

For example:Now, assuming I accomplished what I was trying to, you don't know everything about a Sturbok yet, but you do know several things: You know it's probably a living creature, or possibly an autonomous robot. You know they travel in swarms. You know a Sturbok swarm needs to be dealt with, but it's more of a nuisance than a danger; it's not whatever danger Jon was initially alert for. You know a mesh hood probably provides protection against them. You're wondering what the bamboo poles are for, though. (So am I. )

If I wrote the rest of the scene, I'd work in more details about the Sturbok. You'd find out what they look like, and what it is they do that creates a problem.

I want to echo Fennel and SPMiller's comments. I'm a conlanger, and I would love to include as many words as possible in each and every story; I certainly don't mind when other authors use an abundance of them. But I do undertsand how important it is not to overload the reader. All words should be made clear by appropriate context clues as soon as it is important for the reader to know just what they mean. They should be used sparingly, as well, to cut down on possible exposition or "As you know, Bob..." conversations.

I'm not sure if this will help, but I love the way Adams defined made up words in The Hitchhiker's Guide- by having the guide itself define them. The most common way I've seen is to have an outsider (like Arthur in the affore mentioned book) ask for definitions. You definitely don't want to get into a situation where characters are telling each other things they already know. I think that's why so many sci-fi/fantasy books are told via the perspective of an outsider.

ETA: Just for fun, a few made up words from the Hitchhiker's Guide:

"Hey, you sass that hoopy frood Ford Prefect? There's a guy who really knows where his towel is." (quoted from memory, could be a bit off)

Hoopy - ajective. Cool
Frood - noun. A person who's really amazingly with it
Sass - verb. See, notice, have sex with

God I love Douglas Adams