We're looking at Setups and Payoffs this week, and today we're going to see if we can come up with some Setups and Payoffs for the one-liners we've been working on. Here we go. 1. Our human-rights-attorney story: Set in the mid 1950's, against the backdrop of the first US Supreme Court case to affirm gay … Continue reading Setups and Payoffs: In our own work
Tag: Foreshadowing
Setups and Payoffs: How the masters do it
We're looking at Setups and Payoffs this week, and today I've got some examples from Harlan Coben's No Second Chance, which we also looked at last week, and Lisa Unger's Crazy Love You. Spoiler Alert. No Second Chance is about Dr. Seidman, who is shot in the opening scene. When he comes to, he learns … Continue reading Setups and Payoffs: How the masters do it
Setups and Payoffs: What are they?
Here’s how Robert McKee sums 'em up: "To set up means to layer in knowledge; to pay off means to close the gap by delivering that knowledge to the audience. When the gap between expectation and result propels the audience back through the story seeking answers, it can only find them if the writer has … Continue reading Setups and Payoffs: What are they?
Writes With Tools 