When creating a piece of writing, whether it be a fictional story, research paper, etc., it is important for the writer(s) to take into consideration their audience, or at the very least, their intended audience of the story. Such is the case, in regards to audience awareness, when it comes to the authors of the Story “Unexpected Love.”
The title alone allows for there to be a certain attraction of attention for a type of audience that might find interest in any sort of love story, also adding a certain, “unexpected” excitement/mystery for the readers to find out. The fact that the story is set in high school, around the prom night, through the various perspectives of high school seniors also allows for there to be a sense of relatableness for the readers as prom night tends to be a memorable moment within the timeline of people’s lives, whether it be good or bad. The setting especially allows for a younger audience (upper teens to early 20s) to have that sense of relatableness, as prom is most likely very fresh in their oh so whimsical minds.
The story starts off with the typical characters that one can find in high school: the jocks (the brothers), beautiful girl (Marissa), who all of the jocks are drooling over, and the quiet, kind-hearted nerdy type boy who secretly likes the girl (Dexter). At some point in life, we have all seen or been that “Dexter,” wishing for a chance to talk to our Marissa, which is why this story keeps the readers so interested: for once the nerdy kid DOES talk to the girl. However, what is so intriguing about the author’s way of carrying out this story is the fact that they allow for the readers to see things from both Marissa and Dexter’s points of view, the readers were able to feel what each of them felt. For example, after Dexter abandoned Marissa at the prom, the author allowed for the audience to, in a sense, “hear” Dexter’s thoughts, such as “She must hate me now…after all, she must have felt terrible being ditched, especially by ME! The social outcast of the entire school…” (“Unexpected Love” Storium. Scene 3). However, it was just before this that the author decided to have the audience look through the eyes of Marissa, as she “aimlessly passes the time for a few minutes before returning home herself. She reflects on the night and goes to bed….thinking of Dexter.” (“Unexpected Love” Storium. Scene 3). This allows for the creation of what I like to call “back-seat writing.” This is a common theme used in a lot of teen dramas/love dramas (whether it be in written text or on a movie screen), where both of the involved parties of a possible relationship have no idea of each other’s thoughts and if they only knew of those thoughts, they would be able to be together. But…they don’t and that can sometimes cause the audience to act as “back-seat writers” as they might scream at these fictional characters through a television screen or a page of a book. Another example of this would be where Dexter thinks to himself, saying “I looked EVERYWHERE! I ran all over the school all lunch…she’s avoiding me, NO DOUBT,”, while at the same time Marissa is thinking: “Regardless of all the guys that want to be with her. All she wants is Dexter, who is unfortunately nowhere to be found,”(“Unexpected Love” Storium. Scene 3). If the first instance didn’t get the young, drama craving readers to scream at Dexter and Marissa, surely this one did the trick.
By having an intended audience in mind and accessing the tendencies such audience(s), the author was able to effectively write a story that not only captures their attention but also relates to the audience and possibly keeps them interested in reading more.
Source: https://storium.com/game/cinderella-game/act-1/scene-1