Not Appeasing Partisans

I still don't fully understand why Schism is my bestselling book, but it is.  By far.  However, one of the most popular critiques is that I don't take sides in the book.  I don't celebrate red states or talk about how awesome blue states are.  I seem to build a "they're both bad" storyline that a few readers find off-putting.

Fine by me.

Schism is about how bad things can get if we don't get off the course we're currently on.  It's not meant to be a tale of advocacy, but rather one of caution.  As such, I intentionally didn't play into the hands of partisans because they're the ones the book is meant to warn us about.  We all seem so angry nowadays, and those "on the other side" are the focus of our anger.  It allows us to dehumanize them and thus lead directly into the nightmare I depicted.

As an author, you cannot allow public pressure to weigh into your story, for all it will do is compromise what you're trying to say.  The readers will decide if it works enough for them to buy.  If not, that's the gable we all take as writers.  However, if we play into the fantasies of the most hyper-partisan among us, we further polarize society and give power to those who want this to turn into a hellscape(because they, of course, would obviously win and rule it all, right?).

In other words, if you want your partisan fantasy book, then write it yourself, but don't expect me to bend because you're oh-so-certain it would never go that way.