Yesterday, I did something I never thought I would do, I mean, ever. I deleted my writer’s blog.

Yes, that’s it, it’s gone. poof!

I deleted all the content and redirected the url to point to my blog. I’m not sure if I will ever resurrect it, or do another, of any kind. Or even bother to share my stories with anyone, anymore. Why, you ask, did I do this?

Good question. One was the lack of enthusiasm (on my part), and the constant need to promote something people didn’t seem to want to read. And then, there’s what’s happening to writing online in general.

First, plagiarism has been around a long time, and yes, it’s happened to me and, at the time, my then writing partner. We had a script basically stolen and … well, that’s a whole other story to tell another day.

Secondly, in this era of AI bots trawling the internet for content, CLARKESWORLD, a high-profile online fiction magazine has come up against every writer’s nightmare (other than being plagiarised), AI-generated submissions. And this, as they say, is only the beginning.

You want to get into Fake News? We’re entering an era where it doesn’t bode well for trusting anything we read online, anymore. But, again, that’s a whole other post open for discussion.

What does all this have to do with me deleting my website? Everything. I’m not interested in having my work trolled or trawled and used without my permission and so … delete.

Yes, it seems extreme but then again, not. I’m still at liberty to send my work in to any given magazine, whether online or not. I just won’t be sharing any of my older works or rejected stories, anymore, online. It’s a conscious decision and one I didn’t take lightly, and, thinking about where AI bots and the like are leading, I’m wondering if more writers and authors will follow suit and hit that delete button?

It’s a sad day all around for writers and artists alike, and I’m sure there will be plenty of heated discussions to come, while tech companies push their AI software on us all, whether we want it or even asked for it. It’s here and, probably about to disrupt everyone’s life in ways we haven’t even thought about.

Welcome to the future, it’s yours!