Dominoes are those cute little square blocks that you can set up in lines or angular shapes, and flick to make them fall. You can build some pretty impressive things with them – curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall, and even 3D structures like towers and pyramids. And if you’ve ever watched a domino artist, you know that when you tip the first piece ever so slightly, all the rest follow in a beautiful, rhythmic cascade of motion. Writers can use this image to remind themselves that any action that has a positive impact on the story must follow in its own logical sequence.
If the actions of a character seem out of place, illogical or inconsequential, the domino effect will fail and your readers will lose interest. For example, if your hero shoots someone in the back without any justification, or if she cheats on her husband, it’s important to provide enough motivation and reason for these decisions so that your readers feel like they can forgive them or at least continue liking her as a hero.
Domino Effects in Writing
When it comes to your writing, there are many ways you can utilize the Domino Effect to improve your scenes and raise your tension and suspense. One simple way is to have your hero make a decision that has a positive effect on the story, but only after completing an act that’s completely illogical. You can also use the domino effect to help readers understand the relationships between characters in a scene.
For example, if your hero’s friend has done something to upset her but doesn’t say anything to her about it, she might be feeling ignored and begin to withdraw from the relationship. This is a classic sign of a domino effect, and it’s important for the hero to realize this and reach out to her friend.
Another example of a domino effect occurs in medicine when a patient gets sick and is treated by a medical professional who doesn’t wash their hands correctly before treating another patient. This can lead to the second patient catching the same infection as the first, or even a more severe illness. This is called a nosocomial infection and can lead to complications such as sepsis or death.
The most basic game of domino involves two players and a double-twelve or double-nine set (91 tiles). Each player starts with seven dominoes and one is drawn at the start of each turn. Players then try to lay a domino on the table by placing it adjacent to an existing domino that has the same number of pips as one end of the played domino. If the player cannot play their domino, they must draw a sleeping domino from the boneyard and pass their turn. The game continues until one player wins by playing all their dominoes or reaches a point where they cannot play any more. Players must then “chip out” and the winner is the player with the lowest combined total of pips on their remaining dominoes.