Here is my dilemma: One of my MCs is part of five families, known as the "First Families" who have unique powers. Each of the five families are recognizable by unique eye colors--but at the time the story is takes place they have been scattered and many killed due to political purge centuries ago. Only a very few people know about their existence. Even the descendants of the families for the most part are ignorant of their past and think their eye color is just that...eye coloration (including my MC). Their power only comes to the front when they get put into situations...think like the ability to inspire those around them to succeed even when all hope seems lost--not epic fireballs that melt armies. I want to put an explanation of it somewhere...but do I put it somewhere towards the late forward or middle, so the reader kind of knows what the MC does not and gets to watch the MC learn about it...or do I breadcrumb it, dropping hints through the book that there is something different about them and reveal it late? I currently have it the former, but I'm on the fence ab0ut it's placement, although by the point it is explained, it has been bread-crumbed and the MC is introduced after becoming famous for winning a battle he should have lost. The other problem is, while it is explained by another "First Family" member's introduction to the story, I also want it to flow and not just tell...although in certain circumstances I feel that telling can be more appropriate than trying to show, and this might be one of them. Where do you all prefer to put in a reveal like this? Also yes, the title is shameless clickbait
The latter seems better to me. It's compelling foreshadowing. I can see the forehead smack: "Oh, SHE has violet eyes too. That's why she could do the thing!" or "That's why he reacted so strongly to learning about that character's eye colour!" I don't know how much of a total reveal you really need to do, though. Does an authority need to place his wide expository stamp on it (you're a wizard, Harry), or can it simply be the best working theory the characters develop based on evidence, myth, and anecdotes? It depends on if you want a more significant epiphanous moment or not.
Right now, I have a part where a family member discusses that the First Families were the original founders of the empire and that the color of their eyes were how you could identify them. He describes its members as "resourceful" but no mention is made of power...nor to be honest do I intend to outright say 'magic'. Their 'power' is more like an intangible aura of sorts...it inspires others around them but it has no visible effect...it's more like legendary commanders or explorers who manage against all odds. It ends up sort of being a very small tell early on and the rest of the story is the show of just what the "resourcefulness" can accomplish. I'm just not sure if I want to do that or just keep showing his resourcefulness and have an "ah ha" moment later where the First Family thing is revealed.
Oh, I understand what you mean now. The want for either makes sense. Well my vote is for the earlier small tell: 1, pendulous doubt. The fragmentation of the families is a ready contradiction of their esteem. If time washed them away like any other family, maybe they're not so resourceful after all, the MC or his antagonistic friend might think. Any failure he faces will be potential evidence for that. Maybe that family member was full of nonsense, telling myth... 2, lore relevance and raises questions. Knowing that the families are something directly important to the main character might pique the reader more when relevant lore is mentioned, and also make the reader more compelled to learn what exactly happened those centuries ago. In other words, I'm a lot more interested in what happened to the MC's clan than I am some old one. 3, ramp-up vs drop-off. It's all execution, but "he succeeded because of his genes" seems deflating to come after victory. I'd rather, "will he succeed with the help of his genes?" be a question that the reader and MC are asking, whose answer only comes after great tension. To reiterate, though, both options will probably turn out well.
Lower than you think... but in all seriousness, it sounds like you already have it arranged how I personally prefer it, bread-crumbed in and then a more holistic reveal/explanation. I prefer the bread-crumbing to be as subtle as possible because it generates a sense of intrigue, although there is a fine line between intrigue and confusion. Some people may not like the subtlety because sometimes it can be confusing but you just have to do your best to make the allusions as interesting as possible without outright confusing the reader.
I too prefer bread-crumbing. Subtle hints are often missed along the way and when the 'AHA' moment comes, I will go back and find the hints and say to myself, "I should have seen that" or something of that nature. You could also put in a 'quickie' where a power manifests unknowingly and confounds everyone as to how it happened. With no assignment of the origin of the power, the foreshadowing becomes even stronger. And the reader is dragged along with you.
Breadcrumbs and a late reveal. By the time the reveal comes, a) the reader has a good idea why the MC can do what he does, and b) the reader already knows most of what's going on, so you don't have to infodump - you can just say "he explained everything". A late reveal is more dramatic, too - it makes for a good climactic moment, or even an early third-act thing... maybe even at the midpoint, as a turning point of the story (I don't know how your story goes), but certainly no earlier.
Entirely depends on your story. If it's about your MC looking for her true identity, uncovering her past, revealing it at the midpoint would make sense. If it's about your MC using her powers for some mission in the story, revealing it at the beginning, as part of the first plot point before Act 2 would make sense. In both instances, you'll need to drop breadcrumbs of clues anyway so as to not have it seem like a complete ass-pull - so that's a given and not a choice at all. It is a "must". This is about story structure, not what would be "cool", so I'd ask yourself what your story is about and what are the stakes, and then arrange accordingly.
