: Re: How to tell readers that I know my story is factually incorrect? Sometimes, it so happens that I do some research for a story and find that a major plot point could never work in real life.

@Si5022468

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Many authors do include that kind of information outside of the story itself. Typically it goes in a foreword or afterword, which are essays the author finds useful to include with the story that can contain almost anything, including the acknowledgements section (usually separate). These are directed to the reader, often in a conversational tone. I imagine that if an author were to give a live reading of their story, they'd have the opportunity to speak about it to the audience. These sections have the same purpose and effect.

I've encountered explanatory and historical notes more often in the Afterword simply because to discuss plot points and details is to risk spoiling something for the reader, or because the reader wouldn't understand the context without having first read the story. The exception I've seen is when this is a later edition, and the author is reintroducing or reframing the work in some retrospective way.

As F1Krazy suggested, many readers cut to the chase and only read the story, so you would have to accept that not everyone would get that explanation.

I think if your story doesn't make sense or isn't self-contained and you must convey that information to them somehow, it would be better to include it as part of the work itself. You could do substantial reworking to incorporate it into the story, but barring that you have another alternative: I've seen authors slip this in as a prologue that isn't in the narrative voice of the rest of the work, such as offering a faux dictionary definition or quote, or a quick backstory. It feels contrived but ensures that the reader has that information going in.

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