The Domino Effect in Writing

The term domino refers to the figurative cascade of events following one initial action, just like the falling dominoes that children love to set up and knock over. It’s also a great metaphor for the impact that a small change can have on an entire system or structure. Whether it’s the ripple effect of a hurricane, the chain reaction of a drug overdose, or a simple domino tip, there are many examples of this principle at work.

A domino is a rectangular tile with one face bearing an arrangement of dots, similar to those on dice or playing cards. The other face is blank or has an identical pattern. Most dominoes are white or black, but some sets have different colors. In addition to being used in traditional games, dominoes can be used as teaching tools for math and number recognition.

Dominos have a long history, with the first ones appearing in China around the 12th century. They were later introduced in Europe, where they became very popular. Today, dominoes are made of a variety of materials, including ceramic clay and plastic, but the most common type is a polymer resin.

While some people use them to teach basic counting, most people enjoy simply building a line of dominoes and watching them fall in a beautiful, rhythmic cascade. They can also be used to create intricate artwork, such as the Rainbow Spiral, which Lily Hevesh created in 2017. She used about 15,000 dominoes to form this spectacular piece.

As the pieces fall, they push against each other and build up more and more pressure until they reach their limit. Once that point is reached, the nudge of a finger is enough to tip the first domino past its threshold, and the rest follow suit in a beautiful, mesmerizing cascade.

The same principle can be applied to writing, as shown by the Domino Effect, the term coined by author and literary consultant Joanna Walsh. She suggests thinking of every scene in your book as a domino, and that you should only add scenes that will have a significant impact on the ones that come before it. If you’re a pantster, that is, if you don’t make detailed outlines of plot ahead of time, this method can help you weed out scenes that don’t rise to the level of a major character event.

Dominos can also be a metaphor for business. Some businesses have a “domino effect,” meaning that one positive event can trigger an entire series of other good results. This can be a great strategy for building customer loyalty. In one example, Domino’s CEO David Brandon made it a priority to listen to customer complaints and implement new changes quickly. He also implemented programs to support employees, including a relaxed dress code and leadership training. This approach helped Domino’s turn things around in a hurry.

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