: Can someone explain set pieces? I was using a book in a writing group that talked about set pieces, but I never really got a clear idea of what it is or how they're supposed to appear in

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A set-piece is a big scene the reader can see coming and look forward to in fear or hope, which contain small moments of climax and temporary resolution. Short-to-long novels typically have 6-to-12 set-pieces.

Notes on set-pieces (from Ansen Dibell's Plot: Elements of Fiction Writing):

Must be a natural outcome and not staged.
As scenes build on scenes, set-pieces build on set-pieces - each should be set in motion by what happened in the previous.
Can be bad (i.e. where protagonist is defeated).
Should reveal a central truth of the story (concealed at the beginning and demonstrated in the final crisis).
Let the readers know the set-piece is coming.
After the set-piece, the story must change and characters must be affected.
Arise out of what happened, and affects what will follow.
Must be emotional.
Should be mentioned before it happens and indicated through character words or actions why it is climactic.

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I think the plot of Mission Impossible 3 is a good example. It's like the author thought of a list of exciting locations for scenes (sets) (A weapons factory in Berlin! A kidnapping in the Vatican! An attack on a long bridge! A heist in Hong Kong!) and figured out a way to tie them together in a coherent story.

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A set piece is a big moment in a story, usually quiet a bit of the story builds up to it and it has a large effect on the plot. You'll see it a lot in video games and movies. For example, the lobby sequence in The Matrix is a well know set piece.

Set pieces are usually large and memorable and often the plot pivots around them. You can write a story by connecting two or three set pieces, but it might feel a bit hollow unless you can create a good plot connection between each one. I think they are less common in books, or at least less obvious, but I'm sure you can find them.

I wouldn't have one each chapter or so in a book, usually you need time to build up to them so they have the full impact that you want. There would probably only be three or four in a book, and I suspect they would herald act changes as well.

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