The word domino evokes images of a long line of small oblong pieces with a number of spots, or pips, on either side. These are used in the game of domino, where a player lays down one tile on a flat surface and then stacks other tiles on top, with each new piece positioned so that it rests on at least one spot on the preceding tile. Then the player tries to find a tile that has a value that matches that of one or more of the pips on the first piece, and then puts it down. The process continues until the entire line is fallen, revealing a beautiful mosaic or even a portrait. This is why many people love playing domino; the satisfaction of seeing the whole sequence fall is irresistible.

You’ve probably seen YouTube videos of people setting up thousands of dominoes in a straight or curved line and then flicking them to cause the chain to fall, one domino after another. It’s truly remarkable to see how each little nudge causes the entire series to tumble over. When it comes to writing, many writers are like those dominoes. If we don’t plan our scenes ahead of time, we may end up with scenes that don’t logically connect to the ones that come before them. For example, if we have a scene where our heroine finds a clue that will solve the mystery, but in the next scene the antagonist doesn’t raise the tension enough to make her want to pursue this lead, something is wrong.

To understand how this works, we need to look at the physics of dominoes. The first thing to realize is that, unlike regular wood-based blocks, dominoes have a high center of gravity. That means that, in order to cause a domino to tip over, it needs only a small amount of energy to push it past its tipping point. Then, gravity takes over and pulls the entire pile down.

When the first domino falls, much of its potential energy is converted to kinetic energy—energy that is now pushing on the next domino in the sequence. And this energy keeps traveling through the chain until it reaches the last domino, which then falls, causing the entire sequence to tumble down in a spectacular display of physics.

Lily Hevesh, a professional domino builder who has created mind-blowing installations such as this Rainbow Spiral, follows a similar engineering-design process to create her designs. She starts with a theme or idea, then brainstorms for ways to express it in a domino setup. Then, she tests different possibilities and builds a model to see what kind of design is possible. She often uses a domino board to mark out the layout and placement of each piece. Finally, she brings in a team of assistants to complete the project. But, she says, the most important part is knowing how to plan and use momentum. In other words, she knows that the key to success is to start small and keep moving forward.