The Art of Dominoes

Dominoes are cousins to playing cards and one of the oldest tools for game play. They come in all shapes and sizes, allowing for a wide variety of games. The markings on dominoes, called pips, originally represented the results of throwing two six-sided dice. The resulting combinations could be very satisfying to watch fall one by one.

Lily Hevesh has been building domino sets since she was 9 years old. She was enchanted by the art of placing each piece in a straight or curved line and then flicking it to set it into motion. Some of her largest designs take several nail-biting minutes to fall, but once they do, they reveal a beautiful display.

Hevesh has built a following on YouTube with more than 2 million subscribers by sharing videos of her domino creations. She has even helped create large domino setups for movies, TV shows, and events. In 2017, Hevesh created a 15-color spiral using 12,000 dominoes for the Guinness World Record. The record still stands.

In the early days of Domino’s Pizza, founder Tom Monaghan was determined to make it possible for a customer to order a pizza and have it delivered in 30 minutes. That goal was so important to him that he took the unusual step of assigning a driver to each delivery route. Unfortunately, the driver’s job was to not only deliver a pizza but also be responsible for a number of other responsibilities such as taking payments and resolving customer complaints.

This strategy worked, and the company grew to be a major competitor in the fast food industry. However, the system eventually backfired because of a lack of control and over-reliance on drivers to meet the 30-minute target. It resulted in a lot of speeding, reckless driving, and even deaths.

Domino’s CEO Don Meij learned a valuable lesson from the experience. The key to success with any goal is consistency and momentum. He explains that “if you can build a habit of doing something every day, it builds up on your subconscious.” It is this momentum that allows you to achieve more and better yourself over time.

This principle can be applied to writing. Whether you write by the seat of your pants or plot your manuscript with an outline program such as Scrivener, the process should be similar. You should think of each scene as a domino and consider its impact on the next scene. If a scene doesn’t add tension, raise questions, or advance the plot, it should be weeded out.