Like the Little Girl in the Old El Paso Commercial

Seth Fried's short story trailers could be described as "genius!" Fried, whose stories have appeared in the likes of The Missouri Review, Tin House, StoryQuarterly, and McSweeney's among so many others has taken to getting the word out by way of trailer. Yes, those things at the beginning of movies (as well as gaining a strong foothold in the novel market thanks to companies like COS Productions), only let me repeat he's creating trailers for short stories. That's where the genius part comes in.

So when one encounters someone with such a brilliant idea, what should they do? Obviously, rip him off!

Okay, not really rip him off, but maybe find myself inspired to see what I can do relative to my own stories (that are soon to see the light of day). Up first, "Headlines," which is scheduled to appear sometime around February at PANK. And while you're waiting for the travesty that is my first crack at short story trailerdom, check out Seth Fried's site (and some of his videos below).