Explanation: Setups, payoffs, and the clues in between

or the road in between. A big part of the pleasure of reading is recognizing, interpreting, and then connecting the dots actually has a payoff, and that there aren't any inadvertent setups leading nowhere. This is crucial since, as we know, readers assume that everything in a story is there on a need-to-know basis, which means they take it of a pattern. each action will have story significance. to mistake a random unnecessary fact for a setup. To make matters worse, because its relevance readers assume it'll have even more significance later, so it becomes part of the filter that they run the meaning Naturally, this undermines the assumptions Rule one, the setup must come long before the payoff. than it seems at first. to actually see the problem unfold. Writers often believe that once the reader knows they'll automatically imagine how that problem is affecting the protagonist. Not so. so the reader can see it. Writers tend to hold back because, since they know what each hint and each clue actually means, What the writer fears is a dead giveaway is actually a tantalizing clue Remember, by creating engaging setups, you'll trigger the reader's curiosity, that causes your reader's curiosity to slip and fall.