A domino is a flat, thumb-sized rectangular block, either blank or bearing from one to six pips or dots: 28 such pieces form a complete set of dominoes. The term may also refer to any of several games played with these tiles, such as a game in which each player attempts to place his or her tile so that it touches the end of another domino of the same type, thus creating a chain of dominoes extending from one side of the table to the other. When a chain reaches the edge of the playing surface, the last tile placed becomes a “wild” domino and may be used to start the chain again.
Domino’s Pizza, the largest pizza company in the world, has been successful by a series of domino effects that have resulted in its growth from a single location in Ypsilanti, Michigan, to over 2,400 locations in the United States and Canada. In its early days, Domino’s founder, Tom Monaghan, marketed his pizza by placing it near colleges and universities. This allowed him to reach a college-aged audience and gain customers quickly.
As the company grew, it became clear that technology could help drive its sales and profit margins, so Domino’s incorporated technological advancements into its business strategy. For example, Domino’s was one of the first companies to offer its customers the option of ordering their pizzas by texting an emoji or using devices such as Amazon Echo. This has led to increased customer engagement and satisfaction, which in turn leads to higher sales and profits for the company.
When Hevesh builds a domino display, she creates an entire chain of tiles that must be carefully positioned so that the two matching ends are adjacent to each other. This allows the tiles to be placed in a way that increases the length of the chain, allowing each tile to push on the next without becoming dislodged from its position. The resulting domino effect is beautiful and captivating to watch.
Similarly, a novelist’s plot can be compared to a domino: every scene must fit into the overall sequence of events. If a scene in a story is out of sync with the rest of the narrative, the result can be disastrous. The domino effect can be a useful tool for authors to consider when writing their manuscripts, and it can provide a guideline to follow as they create their own masterpieces.
When a story is well plotted, the characters will react to the action in ways that advance the narrative and engage readers. A story that deviates from the domino effect is unlikely to succeed because it will confuse and frustrate readers. For example, if a character takes an immoral action, the author must ensure that readers understand how that action will affect other characters in the story and convince them to keep following the logic of the narrative even though it runs counter to their own logical beliefs and desires.