Dominoes are flat thumbsized blocks that each bear from one to six pips or dots. A complete set of dominoes contains 28 such pieces. People use them to play games where they arrange them in lines and angular patterns. They are also used for decorative purposes. The word domino is derived from the Latin words for “falling or toppling” and refers to the way that these pieces cascade over each other.
The most popular domino games fit into four categories: bidding games, blocking games, scoring games, and round games. The rules of each type vary slightly from place to place, but the basic idea is that each player tries to get rid of all of his tiles before the other players. The first player who does so wins the hand or the game.
In the simplest of domino games, each player has seven tiles that must be played in turn. Each tile has a value that is added to the total score for the player who plays it. When a player makes a mistake, such as playing a double when he should have played a single, he must call for a new tile and play the correct piece. He may not hold back a playable domino for strategic reasons.
A domino can be joined to the line of play in two ways: either with the line of play, lengthwise (the matching halves of the tiles are played end to end), or across the line of play, crosswise (one half of a double is played across the other). In some games, only the latter option is allowed.
If there is a tie for the highest double in a hand, the player who holds that domino must make the first play. If there is no tie, the winner of the last game starts. In addition, the rules of some domino games require the player with the heaviest double to begin play.
When you think about it, dominoes are more powerful than we realize. A simple nudge can cause them to tumble. This is known as the domino effect. In fact, a single domino can trigger a chain reaction that is about a hundred times its own size.
The same is true in writing. A domino effect is the way that each scene naturally influences the scene after it. Whether you are working on fiction or nonfiction, your scenes should work together like dominoes.
Each scene must logically connect to the next, and the emotional beats must shift as they should. To test this, I recommend taking a look at your scenes as if they were dominoes. Do they all fall in the right order? Do they lead to the final scene that you want to create? If not, rewrite them to be more domino-like. You will be glad you did!