Occasionally, there's a story that wants to be told and, as an author, you sit down at the keyboard to put the internalized story to bits and bytes of an electronic medium. Even as you write it, you know that people will either love it or hate it. Some stories just don't admit much room between those two extremes.
It doesn't matter if the right words are chosen, the words are all spelled correctly, and the grammar is proper (none of which I've got a good reputation about doing). It's not a matter of story telling or plot, but one of subject. Pro-choice people will not applaud a right to life story. Atheists will not enjoy a heavily religious story.
The most recent story that I'm posting, Utopian Refugee, is one of those kinds of stories. In this case, I'm not even sure if it is the subject that will be at fault for the mixed reviews. Everyone who has read the story has commented that it will probably get very high and very low scores with few scores in between.
I can see people arguing that I'm taking one side or another of the debate in this story. I'm not. Yet I'm sure there are those who will read the ideals of first character and the criticism of the second as my endorsing it. Others will see the ideals of the second character and the criticism of the first as endorsing those views.
I'm not endorsing either view. I'm writing a criticism of the pursuit of idealistic political agendas without reflection as to the possible unintended consequences.It is a criticism of ends and means. That kind of commentary tends to make people uneasy. We want the best for everyone. It's not a pleasant thing to be told that you are cheerfully paving the road to hell.
I hope that readers enjoy it. I won't be surprised if they don't.