On the smallest scale, set-ups and payoffs are what your story is made of. Everything significant is either a set-up or a payoff, however subtle or offbeat...

Concur, Debbie. It's also a clear indicator to a reader that the writer is on top of their game, simply the awareness of how important setups and payoffs are, and how well they are handled by the writer.

I agree Debbie, they can be really big things, or really tiny things, but when they are well executed, they can make or break a story. I wonder whether Payoffs are more important though? Technically something would not be a set-up without a payoff I guess, but all sorts of things can be "set-up" in a story and never get paid off, they can still be useful, funny, scary, but just exist in that moment. I am just thinking about this as I thought there was a great one in Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa which I saw yesterday (and would heartily recommend) ******SPOILERS******* Early on in the film there is a pretty much throwaway comment about fairground air-rifles which is funny in itself in the context of the scene within which it is delivered....and then largely forgotten about, until the last few minutes of the film when that off-hand comment comes back into play as AP uses a (albeit "tampered with by Gypsies) fairground air-rifle in another superb set-piece. It was a tiny set-up and a great payoff.....one could have existed without the other and each scene would have been fun without it but the two together work so much better and, most importantly, they make you realise that the writers have given their story a lot of thought, that they care about their story and their characters and they care about the audience....whether or not the audience see that set-up and payoff, they care. So I think that is another reason why they are important.....they show that the writer(s) care about their story. Maybe.....well, either way, I need to go away and think of some set-ups and payoffs..... :-)

I agree with everyone - set ups and pay offs are what the story is made up of and, yes, there are many things that can be set up and yet never paid off, although I find when things are set up and paid off, I find myself more satisfied with the story as a whole. it is an indicator of good writing and something I continually strive for.