A domino is a small rectangular block of wood or plastic marked on both sides with numbers in the shape of dots, as used in a game of chance or for other purposes. It is usually twice as long as it is wide, and features a line in the middle to divide it visually into two squares. Each end is either blank or has a number of spots—called pips—as in the most common variant, called double six. The sum of the pips on each end is used to determine its value.
A nudge is all it takes for a domino to fall over. Domino builders set up hundreds or thousands of dominoes in a carefully planned sequence, and then demonstrate the domino effect before a crowd. The idea is that the tipping over of one domino will cause all others to topple. It’s a lot like how an action in a story can have far-reaching effects.
The term domino is also used to describe a chain reaction, or cascade, of events. For example, if a car crashes into another vehicle, it may start a domino effect that ultimately leads to many more crashes. Likewise, if someone starts bullying a friend online, it can lead to a chain reaction that affects all of their friends.
It’s easy to see how this kind of domino effect can be dangerous in real life. For example, if a person bullies their coworker and makes them uncomfortable, the coworker could feel so threatened that they start to act defensively in return. This can spiral out of control until everyone is involved in a vicious circle of retaliation and aggression.
Dominoes were first used in Italy and France in the 18th Century, and they became a popular fad. The game moved to Britain in the late 18th Century, possibly via French prisoners of war. In addition to dominoes, the British also produced a variety of domino puzzles, which were games in which you had to place tiles on a board based on their arithmetic values.
Hevesh uses a similar approach to her art installations. She tests each section of her displays, making sure they work individually before putting them together. This helps her make precise corrections when a piece doesn’t go right. For example, she might test the biggest 3-D sections before assembling them in order to avoid the mistake of connecting the wrong pieces together.
For writers, this is a great way to think about our plots. If we don’t have a detailed outline, we risk writing scenes that don’t advance the plot or raise tension. Similarly, if we “pantser” our stories without using tools like Scrivener to help us plot, we may end up with scenes that are at the wrong angle or don’t have enough impact on the scene ahead of it.