The Duh Factor

I just saw a lame question on a forum, coupled with a post on :: inkthinker ::: Ignorance is not bliss; it’s just ignorance, that reminded me just how bloody lazy some people can be, and they don’t seem ashamed about it. The question: “Where can I find the contact information for the editor of XYZ magazine?”

How can you separate the good writer from the lazy one? Apply this simple test – ask the writer to go find something on the Internet. If that writer comes back with an answer, you’ve found a good writer. However, if that writer asks a million more questions and then seeks the answer from writers’ forums, you’ve found yourself one lazy writer.

I’m not saying that all people who seek the answer elsewhere are lazy – some questions are just too tough and the info too obscure. However, if you’ve asked the writer to find out who the editor-in-chief of Time magazine is and that writer posts the question on writers’ forums, beware. That’s someone who’s too lazy to learn the right way to dig. And it’s annoying as hell to those of us who will do the work. Just ask Kristen King, whose blog on this very subject has inspired this post.

Writers new and veteran – please, think before you ask. Gauge the importance of your questions. Are you asking because the answer is eluding you despite your best efforts, or are you asking because you don’t want to/know how to do the legwork? If it’s the former, God help you with your career. If it’s the latter, that can be fixed quite easily. Get thee to a coach, buy yourself a book on researching, or just get to know your Google or Yahoo! search engine. Most writers are quite willing to help out a fellow writer, but when the questions become so basic that any kid could figure it out, we begin to feel used. No one likes to do another person’s job, especially if that other person is collecting a check for it.