Quote:
Originally Posted by exaltedwombat
Any more so than annotations placed not inline? The story-teller's job is to build his world from the narrative. If any necessary information is not inherent - maybe events in a previous book of a series - there can be a foreword.
But I repeat, this is my stylistic preference, not a rule.
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Well, I don't know if you are familiar with the works of Jack Vance (if not, you should)? He writes SF/Fantasy and often uses footnotes to give more details of certain aspects (culture, language, objects, history, etc). They enrich the story in a big way, but don't have a place in the narrative. The story can be read without it. If it was placed within the narrative, it would draw away from the actual story told. With footnotes he leaves the choice to the reader.
For academic or non-fiction it is totally different.