I’ve never done a Friday Five before but I have a few unrelated things swimming in my head, so it seems appropriate. Let’s get to it!

1. One of my Thirty Before 30 tasks is to participate in 10 twitter chats. I did my first one last week: YA Highway‘s The Highway Cafe.

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It was really fun! Though a little intimidating at first because the tweets go by really fast, and you have to pay attention to keep up. You also have to be okay with just jumping into conversations, which can be awkward. But the YA Highway ladies and all the other writers were really nice. We chatted about books we’re reading, whether we’re plotters or pantsers, how awkward most writers are in real life, and why that’s okay (ha – that was a funny topic), and even our drinks of choice when writing. I will definitely join YA Highway’s chat again, and others as well. If you’re looking for twitter chats for writers, check out this post by Debbie Ridpath Ohi (aka Inkygirl). She lists all the hash tags for recurring chats and when they take place.

2. This weekend is the NYC SCBWI conference. I went the last two years but this year I’m missing out. With Writer’s Digest conference last weekend, and other conferences/events I want to attend the rest of this year, I need to pace myself. I just registered for the NJ SCBWI conference in June and I’m really excited. It’s a lot smaller than the big NYC one and I’ll have more opportunities to meet and mingle with agents and editors, and of course other writers. If you’ll be there too, let me know!

3. My husband and I are seeing the play Sleep No More tomorrow night for his birthday. It’s not even really a play, but an experience. Have you heard of it/seen it? Here’s what New York Magazine said about it:

A grown-up haunted house that actually haunts, Sleep No More
(devised by the U.K.’s diabolical Punchdrunk company) is six floors of
stylish madness that incorporates influences as diverse as Macbeth,
Hitchcock, and techno. As you wander, masked, in the murk of the
“McKittrick Hotel”—really a trio of converted warehouses next to the
High Line—you encounter mute actor-dancers as they literally climb the
walls of their infinitely detailed hell-house. If this be gimmickry, let
us have more like it. Sleep No More phases through you like gamma rays, transforming you into (or maybe just revealing) the voyeur you were always meant to be.

It’s going to be soo trippy! I’m nervous and excited at the same time. Expect a full report afterwards.

4. I finished the first book for the 2012 Debut Author Challenge: Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I really enjoyed it! My post on it will be up next Friday.

5. I hit 200 followers this week! I try not to focus too much on stuff like that but it’s a nice milestone to hit. THANK YOU all so much for reading.

Have a great weekend!