ON NEGATIVE SPACE.

Wolff doesn't bring the mother back into the story until its penultimate paragraphs, when the narrator and his father find state troopers waiting for them at the other end of their route. The outline Sigers draws for us - her offering of the Teacher's actions and fantasies - contrasts with the negative space created by the lack of character motivation. MFA WORKBOOK WRITING TIPS FROM MASTER OF FINE ARTS PROGRAMS AND CANDIDATES When we speak of technique in fiction, we're generally talking about active writing or inclusion: We rarely think of a piece as being impacted by what its author didn't do. [Extracted from the article]