The Domino Effect

Dominoes are a game of skill and chance. Like the cards in a deck of playing cards, dominoes have identifying marks on one side and are blank or identically patterned on the other. The identifying marks are arranged in suits, with each suit having a specific number of spots or “pips” — the same as those on a six-sided die. Typical domino sets contain 28 tiles, although larger ones exist for more elaborate games.

The word domino has also come to refer to a sequence of events, especially in politics or business. This type of chain reaction, called the Domino Effect, occurs when an initial event causes a series of similar or related events to occur in quick succession.

For instance, the emergence of the Internet led to the rise of e-commerce and the domino effect when a small business owner’s website became popular, leading to more businesses using it to promote their products and services. These sites can be accessed via laptops, tablets or mobile phones and allow users to place orders from anywhere in the world. This has allowed companies to expand their market reach and improve the overall quality of their services and products.

During his tenure as CEO of Domino’s, Domino’s saw a major turnaround. Under Doyle’s leadership, the company’s sales grew by more than $7 billion and same-store sales increased by more than 10 percent. This was thanks to a strong emphasis on customer service and an innovative business model that emphasizes speed and efficiency in the delivery process.

As a child, Lily Hevesh enjoyed setting up dominoes in a straight or curved line and flicking the first one, watching the entire chain fall. Now, as an adult, she enjoys building more complicated creations, like a 15-color spiral, with more than 12,000 dominoes. She uses a combination of strategic planning and careful sequencing to get the right sequence of dominoes to fall just so.

Hevesh’s success shows that a well-thought-out plan can help you achieve your goals. This is true for writing as well, whether you’re a pantser who writes off the cuff or a plotter who carefully outlines your manuscript. Ultimately, you want scenes in your story that advance the plot and leave readers wondering what’s going to happen next.

As a result, your scenes must be paced just right. Too long and your story will feel bloated; too short and it may not have enough momentum. To keep your narrative moving forward, you can use the same strategy as Hevesh to create a domino effect. The best way to do that is by utilizing scene dominoes in your storytelling.