Our online issue “Bloom” is full of incredible and surprising pieces of fiction and creative nonfiction. Authors brought their unique spins and voices to the theme: some stories are rooted in nature while others are blossoming with metaphor, wild and daring and brilliant. Let’s hear how author Dabney Baldrige created her short story “Unseen” published in DRP’s online issue “Bloom” in Summer 2025.
My story “Unseen” started with just a name: Noa. This unique name, meaning “movement,” jumped out at me when I first saw it, so I jotted it down in my running list of possible character names. Later, sitting in a college creative writing class, I thought of what a girl with the name Noa would be like. An image of a strong and sassy dirty blond came to mind, much like my own younger sister. I decided to go with it. And so the character of Noa was born.
Noa quickly became my favorite character to place in different story ideas and see where she would take them. With her strong personality, she set the perspective, the tone, the vocabulary, and drove the narrative. I quickly realized that she was not a girl I could put into just any cookie cutter story. She wouldn’t be forced into anything. She really showed me the truth in the mantra “let the character guide the story.”
It was a challenge to find a setting that would let both Noa’s strengths and her flaws dance together in a realistic way. I knew from the start that her story would be one of growth, but was unsure of how to show her journey. First I placed her in an airport, traveling back home from college, but that wasn’t quite right. I tried a few other settings, but then I finally found her at a bus station in Memphis, and that’s when the story started to fall into place. I loved how her physical journey, and all the literal stops, starts, and bumps of a bus ride, mirrored her emotional journey. There were many threads I was able to pull on that brought her to the end of herself, where growth really happens.
Memphis. Photo from author.
Because Noa was a college student like me and those around me at the time, she was in the middle of trying to find her way in the world, just like we were. I drew my inspiration from various bits of conversation and real stories I had heard from friends and classmates, from emotions I had felt, and from growth I did during that time as well. Though Noa’s journey was not exactly mine, it encapsulated what it often felt like for me at that pivotal time, living in between childhood and adulthood, trying to be independent, but also still needing help. Knowing when to ask for support was something I had to learn too. I think it’s something we all grapple with at times.
Photo of author in college.
Even though this is a story I wrote in college about a college student, I have continued to be drawn to it over the years because of those very human themes and emotions. I have brought it out every so often and continued to edit it down, tighten its language, and hone in on Noa’s emotional journey. Each time I went back to it, I was glad for fresh eyes that could see where my dialogue was a bit clunky or not realistic, where I had strayed into being too dramatic or preachy, where I needed to cut back and let the story speak for itself. Then, when I saw Dandelion Revolution Press put out a call for stories of personal growth, driven by female characters who were as flawed as they were strong, I knew it was ready to see the light of day. I am thrilled that “Bloom” ended up being the perfect place for “Unseen” to be seen.