I Stopped Writing Because of AI, & Why I’d Not Recommend It

Last year, I stopped writing because I was scared of AI. I gave up way before AI could replace me.

It hurts to say this, but I chickened out.

AI this. AI that. I got tired of listening to how AI is going to destroy my creative career, so I walked away before my writing career blew up in front of me.

I spent the next few weeks researching my next side hustle. I tried making reels. I resumed my YouTube channel after four years. I even looked for a job to ensure I have an active income stream.

Fear had taken over my senses. I let the news creep into my head, which made me lose my way towards my goal.

The news that stressed me was the mass layoffs due to AI. Just because writers from Buzzfeed were let go doesn’t mean every writer in the world is replaceable.

ChatGPT can create hundreds of BuzzFeed-like articles in a few minutes. But the stories I was writing were only mine; I had to live that life and be my own person to be able to write that.

I know better now, but when the world was shifting with AI, my mind was busy creating worst-case scenarios rather than showing me the reality.

I didn’t even read the entire news; the headlines were enough to stop me from following my dream of becoming a successful writer.

How could I quit on my dream when I didn’t understand what was really happening around me?

To say I was disappointed with my past self would be an understatement. Not writing not only crashed my momentum but also stunted my growth, leaving me doubting myself even more.

Quitting is not an option. It has never been an option.

If you have a dream, you don’t just give up on it because everyone thinks it’s not possible. Not writing for months showed my commitment to my passion and how easy it was to move on.

I’d not recommend it to other writers to give up on their dream because there’s a new technology in the market. There will always be challenges while pursuing a dream; that doesn’t mean we will quit. Without challenges, the pursuit is as simple as walking down to your favorite bakery on a summer morning.

I wasn’t happy to see what this break did to my self-esteem and my growth. It had been a few years since my writing career, and I had forgotten how to write. I had forgotten to sit in front of an empty screen. The whole process I had created for myself was lost.

The worst was developing this fear that I can’t write. I was scared to write. I was afraid to share my thoughts with the world. All the hard work I had done to build that publishing muscle was gone.

Quitting is no longer an option.

I need to make it work. Whether it’s generative AI, tough competition from other writers, or whatever the reason, I can’t quit.

If I quit on my dreams, that’s what’s the point of all of this? What’s the point of hustling for 7 years with a full-time job to write after my 9–5? What’s the point of missing time with family and friends if I have to quit one day?

Now I write for myself. Not for results. Not for views. I write. I try to improve. I write to understand myself. I write because I want to. I want to hone my skills and have a big ass portfolio of not writing and not giving up. Writing now is my top priority. I want to keep this momentum to prepare myself to reach a point where I effortlessly create the magnum opus of my writing. And if I ever want to give up, I’ll remember this moment.

I’ll remember how I didn’t give up for a ChatBot that gives me nothing new but the summary of all its database taken from other writers and creators without their knowledge.

I’ll not be replaced by that.

Because a writer never stops writing. In rain, in a storm, or in an AI hurricane.

A writer just writes.