How to Use the Domino Effect to Build Suspense in Your Fiction
We’ve all seen the domino effect on TV – you tip one piece ever so slightly and it starts a chain reaction that knocks over everything in its path. This same principle applies to the way a writer can build suspense by using scenes in a similar manner, but with more impact and drama. We’ll look at a few examples of this type of scene domino, then we’ll show how you can apply this idea to your own writing.
Domino is a small rectangular block used as gaming objects, often in conjunction with other game pieces such as dice or cards. It has a ridge or line in the middle to separate it visually into two squares, each bearing an arrangement of dots or “pips” similar to those on a die. Each pips has a different value, ranging from six to zero; 28 such tiles form a complete set. Dominoes are sometimes called bones, men, or tiles. Dominoes are stacked in lines and angular patterns, but they can also be placed on edge to form 3D structures.
In addition to playing domino games, they can be arranged to make artistic creations like a house or a sculpture. Some people even use them to create massive displays that take hours to construct, such as the “King of Dominoes,” a woman named Hevesh who has more than 2 million YouTube subscribers. Hevesh creates intricate domino setups that she then lets fall by themselves according to the laws of physics, and her largest creations can take several nail-biting minutes before they’re finished falling.
One of the most important things to remember about domino effects in fiction is that they work best when all the pieces are logically related. If a hero does something that is completely outside of societal norms, for example, you must provide the logic that gives readers permission to continue liking him or her. Otherwise, the domino cascade will be a failure.
X-Force member Domino was the character who introduced this concept to comic books. She was created by Neena Thurman and Stan Lee, who wanted to create a female hero who could rival the heroes of Marvel’s past. The character quickly became a fan favorite, and she’s been an important part of the franchise since its inception.
When Domino joined the X-Force, she was a member of the team when it was attacked by Donald Pierce and Lady Deathstrike, who were trying to download Milo Thurman’s mind into a computer. The action destroyed the building they were standing on, but Domino survived and managed to stop the process, which had already begun to affect Kwannon.
Domino eventually became a leader of her own X-Force branch, the Domino Corps. This group included other women and a few men, and they were sent out to take down supervillains. They worked together to help Wolverine defeat the villain Skornn, who was attempting to download the minds of the living X-Men into a computer to control them and turn them into zombies.