Domino
A domino is a small, rectangular piece of wood or a plastic block bearing a number of dots. These dots, called pips, mark the value of each domino on its two ends. Dominoes are used to play games in which a person lays down one domino edge-to-edge against another, with the aim of matching each domino’s values and forming lines with a particular total count or number of pips. Many different games can be played using a single set of dominoes, and the most common are blocking or scoring games, where a player tries to place their pieces so that their sums will add up to a certain number.
Hevesh first started experimenting with dominoes when she was 10 years old, and she began posting videos of her work online at 15. By the time she was 20, Hevesh had become a professional domino artist who has designed sets for film and television shows, as well as creating a YouTube channel where she shares her mind-blowing creations with her nearly 2 million followers.
Her largest setups can take up to several nail-biting minutes to fall, as each piece must tumble in its own time according to the laws of physics. Hevesh’s process of designing an installation begins with considering the theme and purpose of the display. From there, she brainstorms images or words that might inspire her to create a specific design. Once she has a design in mind, Hevesh tests each section of the arrangement to ensure it works. She then assembles the bigger 3-D sections first, followed by flat arrangements and finally the lines of dominoes that connect them.
The final piece of an impressive domino show is the crowd-pleasing reaction to the massive creations being built. Dominoes can be set up in a wide variety of shapes and designs, including elaborate circles, zigzagging lines, and even giant teeter-totters. The best domino builders can create stunning reactions with hundreds or thousands of dominoes, each set up in a careful sequence that leads to the inevitable toppling with the nudge of just one.
For a writer, understanding the domino effect is key to constructing a good plot. Plotting a novel is all about posing questions that your characters will answer in order to move your story forward, and considering how each action they take will affect their next actions. Whether you write your manuscript off the cuff or use an outline, considering the domino effect can help you craft a story that readers will find compelling.
In addition to determining what actions a character will make, the domino effect also helps writers explain why they are making those choices. If a character acts immorally, for instance, you’ll need to provide enough logic that your readers can either forgive the choice or continue to like the character as a hero. For this reason, the domino effect is an important tool to keep in mind when writing any scene that runs counter to societal expectations.