An author might choose to use words with a neutral connotation instead of words with a positive or negative connotation for the following reason:
The author does not want to sound biased.
Explanation:
There is a clear purpose for an author to choose to use words with a neutral connotation: he or she does not want anyone to think they are taking sides. They want to be impartial, that is, unprejudiced and with no display of bias. The story, article or whatever kind of writing the author engages on is then presented in a neutral manner, which allows readers to form their own opinions in a much more natural and spontaneous way, rather than being, even subtly, influenced by the author's personal points of view, which become more apparent when words with a positive or a negative connotation are used instead of words with neutral connotation.
It might or may be early in the story and the author may not want the reader to form an opinion yet or perhaps the author is describing a minor detail and does not want to draw extra attention to it that could detract from something more important happening in the story.
