An exultation and riposte to the proposed deficiencies of the literary technique that will henceforth be referred to as Omissionism.

Omissionism places a great deal of responsibility in the hands of the reader. It is, in fact, the duty of the consumer to construct their own story from the fragmented reactions to undocumented events that are presented to them. Its primary purpose is to inspire rather than inform. The ambiguity of the unexplained happenings around which the prose is based is intended to challenge rather than coddle the reader and to encourage frequent revision of the text in order to settle upon a pattern of events that hangs together at the conclusion of the piece. In truth, when creating a purely Omissionist piece, the author should have a story in mind – a story that at no point is candidly revealed. Rather than presenting incongruous reactions to events that are independent from one another, the creator of the piece must know exactly what has been left unsaid. However, the execution of Omissionism should not result in a guessing game. It is a purely academic exercise to which there are no right or wrong answers. The reader’s aim is not to figure out the author’s tale to the letter, rather to construct their own series of congruous events. It should be noted that upon first reading an Omissionist piece, the reader may well be led, or indeed lead themselves, down several erroneous paths. Upon completion of chapter one, the reader is presented with an almost limitless set of scenarios that will fit around the event that is supposed to have followed or preceded the chapter. After reading chapter two, however, the reader may find that their chosen path sits uncomfortably with the reactions that followed. In this case, revision is needed to adjust the image forming in the mind of the reader in order to create a vision that fits with both chapters. As the text wears on and the chapters roll by, this practice becomes harder and harder. Indeed it would be common for a reader to reach the final chapter, only to realise that their world no longer works. To be felled at the last hurdle may dishearten some, but it is essential for the successful completion of the exercise that a thorough reworking of the reader’s interpretation takes place. At its core, Omissionism is concerned with the individual interpretation of ideas. It takes the old mantra of writers the world over – to show, not tell the reader what is going on – to the nth degree. It is an intellectual concept focused on the fostering of imagination, the beauty of details and the power of the human mind to assimilate, adjust and assemble the piecemeal offerings into an individual and personally motivated product.