I'm working on a short novel right now and it's based in a very different but similar world to our own. I've read, and watched shows where they do stuff like this but very poorly and I was curious if anyone had any advice on how to introduce someone to a unique universe you've created without boring them to tears with some narrative of what the world is like and why. Thank you - Shotgun
Just start with your characters in that world. The reader will see the differences unfold before him or her. If how and why it got that way is important to the story, those details will naturally turn up as the story unfolds. Otherwise, let it remain a mystery.
I'm going through the same thing - unhappy with some of the constrictions decades have on technology and the overall recognition of characters attached to places, I created a world with no precise decade , and no mention of things like America and computers. Though there were the obvious things like telephones , and cars and such. I'm finding that immersing your reader in a problem your character is thrown is more interesting than a lot of build up or scene setting. Keep your character moving and incorporate little nuggets of your world into the action. Say for instance your main character is being chased and runs through a holographic billboard - you've just announced this world you've created isn't like the readers.
