How do you handle Set-Up?

[Sweet Veil]

For those of you that don't know, set-up is the point in many chapters and stories where things go a tad slow and we get foreshadowing, interactions, and dialogue between characters. I think it's a pretty much needed part of writing most stories. It sets the foundation for the story and for the characters and plot to unravel.

But, my problem is I feel like many will be uninterested in a chapter of mostly dialogue and plot development-wise talking between characters. How do you handle this? Do you throw a small action scene at the end, or a cliffhanger, comedy scene, or anything? I've considered that for future set-up chapters, but it just seems a tad too forced to throw filler-ish scenes in there out of the hair.

 

[Phoenix502]

it often helps in knowing how to keep your reader guessing, yeah... but unless you intend to be building up for a major plot twist, it's usually best not to go too far with the foreshadowing.

I, for instance, prefer to keep the story going on in the present, but every now and then, you'll find something among my writing that won't completely make sense at first... a few chapters later, that instance gets brought up again, but with a little more detail, like finding something new regarding it. over time, it'll be like finding new pieces of a puzzle, and by the time it's finally figured out... then I have that major plot twist right around the corner.