Domino, also spelled dominoes, is a small, thumbsized rectangular block of wood or other rigid material with one to six pips (dots) on each end. It is used as a game piece for a number of games, both simple and complex. The markings on the ends of dominoes are called pips, and they originally represented the results of throwing two six-sided dice.

Domino is a popular game among children, but it is also an important metaphor for many aspects of life and work. For example, the physics behind a long domino chain is similar to how tiny actions can lead to large results. A domino only needs to be slightly tipped forward before gravity takes over, and the rest of the dominoes follow suit.

The same is true of a good story. A story is made up of many scenes, and each scene serves a different purpose in the overall narrative. Scenes can provide character development, set up an argument, or advance the plot. Each scene is like a domino—it might not be effective on its own, but put all the scene dominoes together and you can create something spectacular.

A large part of my job as a book editor is helping authors see the importance of this concept. I encourage them to think of each scene as a domino and the overall novel as a big chain of dominoes. The goal is to build an exciting, coherent whole that will leave readers satisfied and wanting more.

Hevesh was fascinated by dominoes as a kid, and she started creating her own intricate domino setups in her spare time. As a teenager, she began posting videos of her creations online. It wasn’t long before she became a professional domino artist, designing massive setups for movies and events. Hevesh has worked on projects involving more than 300,000 dominoes and even helped to set the Guinness record for the most dominoes toppled in a circular arrangement: 76,017.

Each time Hevesh completes a new setup, she must test it to ensure everything works correctly. For example, she might lay out all the biggest 3-D sections before moving on to the smaller flat arrangements. By filming her tests in slow motion, she can make precise corrections before putting it all together.

Hevesh’s dedication to her craft has paid off—her YouTube channel now has more than 2 million subscribers. She has even created domino setups for Katy Perry and other celebrities. Her largest installations take several nail-biting minutes to complete, but the result is always impressive. She believes the key to success is to focus on progress rather than results, and to keep working at it until you get there.