One of my critique buddies, Natasha Hanova, has started a blog chain on the ripple effect. The premise behind the blog chain is for you to write this question at the top of a post, link it back to the person whose blog you read it on, answer the question, and invite others (consider this your formal invitation) to participate. Last, post a link to participant(s) who link back to your blog to complete the chain. For this chain, Natasha asked the following question:
Has your manuscript (WIP or completed) experienced a ripple effect, where one change affected the manuscript from beginning to end? If so, how?
My YA novel is about a girl who discovers she’s genetically engineered. This news sends her on the run from good and bad guys alike with the help of lifelong friends, Toad and Mayo. As I wrote the first draft of the initial scene with Toad, he stunned me by “rolling into the room” behind Ginny. It wasn’t something I thought about in advance or planned. The character told me he was in a chair. That one small detail caused ripples throughout the rest of the book and has ramifications in the next books as well.
Some were big, leading to ample questions for me like how could genetic engineering be used to help him and how might that impact Ginny’s mixed emotions about her status as a “freak”? Some were smaller, happening within my world building, such as a ramp that her dad built on his back deck for ease of access since Toad was there…a lot. The one simple detail enriched both the character of Toad but also impacted his relationships with Ginny and Mayo, his history (how and when did he end up in a chair?), and complicated his ability to help Mayo rescue their best friend.
Ripples are amazing. They continue to pay dividends long after that initial cause. Check out Writes by Moonlight’s blog on Ripples.
I’m interested in hearing whether you’ve experienced the ripple effect in your work and if so, how? If you decide to participate in this blog chain, please let me know so I can include a link. If you just want to leave your comments below, that works for me, too.
Dawn Allen 
I like your idea of the chaining blogs, but alas, I honestly don’t want to commit the brain power to figuring out how to do it properly. So, here I am–making a comment instead.
My writing style is such that everything I introduce into the writing is a ripple that defines everything else. I have no plans when I write, or if I do they are simple pieces that I know I want to include the next time I sit to type.
So, everytime I write I have no idea what is coming next but it is all defined by whatever I typed before so, in short; yes, everything I write is very ripplistic.
PS. Thanks for giving me the chance to make up a word like ripplistic.
Writers love to make up words. Just look at Shakespeare. Glad I gave you and opportunity, and it is a great word, ripplistic.
I thought so.
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Thanks for participating, Dawn. This ripple definitely enriched the story.
Thanks. I thought so, too.
I had to change one thing but it I had to change the beginning and ending too.