This is a new, recurring feature here on the blog. Each week, I’ll ask someone I know via the Internet and/or (imagine this) personally a question at least tangentially related to the subject of humor and request that she/he respond in 50 words or less.

Or somewhere in the ballpark of 50 words. That’s why there’s an “-ish.” I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this site isn’t exactly a bastion of rigidity.

This week, I’m pleased to be joined by author Sean Ferrell, who has been known to engage me in witty repartee from time to time on Twitter (where he’s @byseanferrell).

Sean’s fiction has appeared in journals such as Electric Literature’s The Outlet and The Adirondack Review, and he won The Fulton Prize for his short story “Building an Elephant.” His debut novel, Numb, was published by Harper Perennial in 2010, and Man in the Empty Suit—about a guy who is traveling through time to save himself, possibly from himself—is forthcoming in February 2013 from Soho Press. You can check out his website at seanferrell.com.

I asked Sean:

You’re an expert on time travel. What, in your opinion, is the biggest mistake a would-be Marty McFly can make?

Hanging with Doc Brown. Marty doesn’t want to be picked on or thought of as an outsider, and his best friend is an 80-year-old man with wiry hair and an inability to say “gigawatts” without sounding like he’s turned on? A close number two: The flight attendant called, and the airline needs its demo life-vest back. L.L.Bean’s entire staff must wake up at night screaming when they think about that floatation device Marty wore as he rocked out with his Doc out.

It’s easy to see that Sean is a good dude (Hello? He loves Back to the Future) and a highly talented writer. I hope you’ll check him out.

“50 Words or Less(-ish) Fridays” is taking next week off for Thanksgiving, but come back the following week when I’ll be joined by … someone. I hope. I really need to send some e-mails. In the meantime, you should probably read this:

Interested in being featured in “50 Words or Less(-ish) Fridays” or know someone who should be? Let me know.