Mentioning something without an immediate explanation

There are times when it is entirely fine and appropriate to simply "tell" your audience something vs contriving an elaborate "show".

If you're first-drafting, let it stand and see how things unfold.

I think a certain amount of info-dumping is unavoidable in a sci-fi novel. It's part of the worldbuilding; otherwise the reader gets confused.

I think it's hard to judge without reading the exposition in question. If it's that short, maybe you could post it? (I'm not clear on the rules for what needs to go in SYW versus what's allowed on the other boards, so please ignore me if that's not okay to do!)

I'm with SWest. The perfect place/way to deal with it probably won't be apparent until you're done with the first draft, anyway. Leave it or put a note on it to look at moving when you're done, but don't worry about this as a drafting problem anymore. It's a revision problem.

Like so many things, It Depends [SUP](TM)[/SUP].

When worldbuilding, the occasional infodump is unavoidable, but sci-fi readers in particular don't necessarily need everything spelled out, if explanations can be deduced from context. If it's something the POV characters take for granted, it can be glossed over with very little (if any) infodumping. "Bill knew it would be a bad day when it took three tries and a fist to the panel for the foodbox to cough up breakfast... and even then the eggs tasted like coffee while the coffee cup was full of brown yolky lumps." The reader can likely deduce that Bill's "foodbox" is some sort of replicator that's on the fritz. Now, if foodboxes and replicators were really important to the story, a little more could be trickled in - he might think about them sourly as he chokes down his mangled breakfast, providing the audience with more info - but since he thinks no more of it than we think of coffee makers or microwaves, and it's not necessary to the plot, it can just be another part of Bill's awful day.

Doesn't "Depends" with a trademark mean you just s**t yourself?

SuspiciousCookie said:

The reason I'm asking is because it's not a particularly important technology. It doesn't have a particular importance in the story (yet), it just serves the purpose of worldbuilding. But I don't know if a reader would feel confused if I left the information out when it is mentioned, or if he'd even still care when the explanation does come later.

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Hard to tell without seeing it in context.

I think it would be fine to mention early, explain later.

You could defer the detailed explanation with a quick nod to why the tech doesn't work yet.

Is it necessary for you to 'explain' anything to the reader how the technology works? Surely the fact that in context it does what it's supposed to do is sufficient.

It also depends on what type of book you're writing. The book I'm reading atm has more than one discussion about how things like artificial gravity ect work in this world. It's not an important point, but it's there. Personally, I couldn't care less, but the novel is very much a "concept" story. More about the what-ifs than anything else.

I feel the extra detail, while boring me, also establishes the credibility of the world for those who are reading this book primarily for it's concepts. So it really depends on what type of story you're writing and who you're writing for.

If the "technology" is not actually used at that point, then the reader will probably not care if it is brought up as long as the characters don't make a fuss about it.

Have you ever read Dan Simmon's "Hyperion"? It's bloody great, full of technologies, fancy words and in-universe technology. From the beginning on he bombards you with words you don't know and he just doesn't explain them, some are never even explained at all. The trick is to find a name that describes what something does perfectly such as farcaster (a sort of stargate to travel to other worlds instantaneously), holopit (an installation that displays hologrammes) or deathwand (an energy weapon). That way you can just postpone the xplanation to a point where it's more convenient, or not do it at all!

I agree: if it doesn't need a detailed explanation, don't give one. Readers are pretty smart. If it's something really unusual, you might provide a single sentence to explain it. Maybe two, if it's complicated. But I doubt a whole paragraph is necessary.

I used some unusual technology in my second novel. My MC keeps traveling through time uncontrollably. Eventually, her lover finds a way to track her using a borrowed "time ring." I could have explained how he got the ring, all about its history, how it works, etc. But it was such a minor part of the story, I didn't feel it was necessary to focus on it. So, when she asks how he found her, I had him point to the ring and say, "It locked onto your temporal signature and hitched a ride. I had to trade in every favor I've ever been owed just to find out it existed." That's all the explanation you get, but it's enough.

As others have said, it's perfectly okay to flag the issue and come back to it when you're doing revisions. Personally, I can't do that. If I find a problem, I have to fix it ASAP. But then, I'm obsessive compulsive and can't stand to let mistakes sit unchecked.