I find it hard to find the balance between explaining the mechanics or new traits of the world my story is taking place in, and letting the reader figure it out.

I always start off thinking, "Well, they're probably not stupid, so if I can figure it out, then so can they."
The issue with that is that I can't not know things about my universe, so me "figuring it out" is hardly the same as a reader doing so.

This makes me want to ensure that things are explained, so that there's no confusion later on. But I don't like exposition, and I'm sure nobody else likes it either.

How far into the story should I hold the reader's hand, if at all?

 

I think I would err on the side of leaving things a bit vague than overexposed. Too much exposition always comes off heavy-handed. Of course, it really depends on how crucial a given element is to understanding the story. Any fiction author has to write exposition sometimes, so when you do, examine if your writing style lends itself well to exposition and if it would be better in prose or in dialogue.

Take Harry Potter. We here at DLP understand the magic system well, but that's rather thanks to a decade of reading canon, fanfic and Taure's headcanon documents---there wasn't much in terms of outright explanations in canon itself.

Then compare HP to something like Sanderson's Stormlight Archive where exposition is abundant and lengthy. I personally find it unappealing and would steer towards the HP end of this scale (the examples I used being the extremes for the purpose of this post).

I would much rather read a more in-media-res approach to worldbuilding (describe the phenomenon mostly as if the reader is familiar with it, but toss in a bit to help them understand, then toss in another bit when the phenomenon reoccurs in-story).

 

In my view, you want to always have the minimum amount of exposition. You bring up worldbuilding facts when they're directly relevant to what's going on on-screen, and then you share the bare minimum for the reader to understand the basics of same. The focus should always be kept on the events, the action as it were, so the pace doesn't get bogged down in irrelevant nonsense.

 

This, but with a caveat: introducing bits and pieces of random worldbuilding into your prose can be done well and helps enhance the world. It's the iceberg theory: you write in a small detail, which, to a curious reader, is an implication that there's more hidden behind that small detail. HP is full of this stuff.

Of course, there is a critical mass where your prose becomes substantially composed of those random details. So, for super slick bonus points, incorporate those worldbuilding details into the scene somehow. They don't need to be strictly related to the scene wherein they appear, but perhaps they inform the reader about other relevant story elements. For example, in a classic setup of two people talking in a room about subject A, give a single detail of the room which suggests the interests/personality/job of one of the characters in the conversation.

 

I agree with Zombie, depends on your style.

I tend to only give out information if it's relevant to the scene. It took to the end of chapter three of my book to explain the biggest piece of world-building in my story that the series revolves around. It wasn't relevant in the first two chapters, or at least, it wasn't as important as what was happening to my protagonist in those moments.

If you write in drafts, it's better to hand-hold and over-explain in your first draft. When you read it in preparation for your next draft, it will be much easier to cut them out if necessary, rather than having to add in explanations.

 

Most everything has been said already, but there are a few things that haven't been mentioned so far.

1) Diminishing exposition makes the reader curious. By making it a secret they can unravel, or that you will explain later in the story, it compels the reader to read on in hopes of finding out. Who doesn't like a bit of mystery?

2) A good hack is to explain elements through a character learning. Got a magic system you want to explain? Jolly good, when the protagonist learns, make the reader learn through them!

3) Too much exposition is boring and overbearing. Information overload is a bad thing. Trickle-feed them information and the reader might just have an a-ha! moment five chapters after they read something because now they have the key to unlock.

Try a little mental exercise. Your reader is just another character in the story. They can see the world just like any other character and understand it on their own. They can be told directly (do you want them to be told directly?). They can find it written down on a piece of paper, but honestly. Studying? The reason exposition is so boring is that it's just pure facts without emotion. If you can dress up facts as action-packed something, you're fine. Conflict, tension, uncertainty, bam. You have the reader hooked.

So in the end, less is more, but too less is bad?

 

Okay so like palm to palm, thumb over thumb is usually indicative of friendship.

Palm on the back of the hand conveys a sort of earnestness and can be used to emphasize when the person who places their hands wants something from the other person.

Interlocking fingers is extremely intimate. It's everything short of a deep kiss.