How Domino Effects Can Enhance Your Writing

Domino is a game of stacking flat blocks on end to form lines. When a domino is tipped over, it causes the next domino in line to tip, and so on, with each one impacting the others until they all fall, sometimes creating elaborate and intricate designs. Some Domino builders even compete in domino shows where they set up hundreds or thousands of dominoes to topple in the most complex and mesmerizing manner possible.

Whether you plot your manuscript off the cuff or take time to create a careful outline, all writing eventually comes down to one simple question: What happens next? Considering how to incorporate domino effects into your story will help you answer that question and propel your reader forward.

A domino is a rectangular piece of wood, bone or ivory that has one or more rounded sides and an indentation, called a pip, on the other side. The pips are arranged in rows or columns, usually of six, but they may also be marked with less than six, or none at all. The number of pips determines the rank or weight of the domino; a domino with more pips is considered to be “heavier” than one with fewer or no pips.

The term Domino can refer to any of the games or sets involving dominoes, including positional games where one player in turn places a domino edge to edge with another in such a way that the adjacent faces match in terms of numbers (e.g., 5 to 5) or total some specified value. Some sets are made from more exotic materials than the traditional wood, such as silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), ivory, or ebony, and may be painted with black or white pips to distinguish them from other sets.

As with the traditional wood dominoes, sets from more exotic materials and colors can be quite expensive. Some sets are carved in relief or made of metals such as brass or pewter. Others are decorated with a wide range of motifs and inlays, such as floral patterns, animals, or historical scenes. The dominoes from such sets are often more colorful and more decorative than the wood pieces, but still very functional.

In addition to positional games, dominoes are used in several other kinds of games that are not based on positioning but on a combination of chance and skill, such as solitaire or trick-taking. Some of these are adaptations of card games, which were once popular as a means to circumvent religious prohibitions against playing cards.

The X-Men character Domino is a mutant who has the ability to influence events through an uncanny force of luck. She has demonstrated this talent many times, such as when she used her powers to prevent Milo Thurman from being downloaded into a computer, but it has also resulted in the death of a teammate. Her luck powers are unconsciously controlled, and she must be in a stressful situation for them to kick in.