My Interview with the Player-In-Chief, Shelly Mazzanoble, Pt. 2

Here is the second part of the interview I completed with Shelly Mazzanoble.  Enjoy!

8: After visiting your personal website, it seemed to me that you’ve always been highly creative. What do you think lead to your creative flow? Does this creative flow that you harbor help you during a game?
Thank you! If you ask my mom she’ll say “weird” rather than “creative” but that’s just one woman’s opinion. I actually blame her for my “weirdness.” Both of my parents are creative and they always fostered that in my brother and I (like with the stuffed animals.)

My parents have always been very supportive of anything my brother and I did. I remember writing stories for my mom since about the time I could write. She loved them and always made a big deal about them so kept it up. And I was much better at writing then I was at catching baseballs or ice-skating so perhaps her “encouragement” was really an attempt to save me years of embarrassment.

I think being creative helps when playing D&D, but D&D also helps you be creative outside of the game. It’s great practice for writers—character development, backstory, plot development. The entertainment industry is chockfull of D&D players. I’ve even heard D&D referred to as the “secret handshake” in Hollywood, like if you make an obscure D&D reference in a meeting and someone gets it, you’re in. So don’t hide your geek cred in public! You never know who is listening.

9: I also saw on your website that you have worked on many individual projects, i.e. plays. Do you have any current projects you are designing or working on at the moment?
My computer’s hard drive is a mecca for unfinished projects. They come here to die. Or at least languish peacefully in a coma until I feel the need to resurrect them again someday. I think I have a short attention span and if there’s no deadline associated with something I have a hard time finishing it. But really, if I’m bored working on something, then what’s the reader going to get out of it, right? Wait… what did you ask me? Oh right—current projects. See? There’s the attention span in action!

In addition to the aforementioned projects in a coma, one that actually has a deadline is a second book for Wizards of the Coast. It’s tentatively titled “Everything I need to Know I learned from My Dungeon Master.” It’s due pretty much any second. Thanks for reminding me. ☺

10: Do you have a favorite project that you have completed?
Any project that I complete is my favorite! Please don’t make me choose. Oh fine, if I must. I wrote a short story called The Chicken & the Egg and then rewrote it as a play. I like this story because it’s about a divisive topic that I care very deeply about—a women’s right to choose. I didn’t want to write it as a vehicle to express my own opinion, but rather show both sides and how incredibly difficult and personal this choice really is. Maybe afterwards people would look more closely at the other side because it’s not as cut an dry as some people think. Even I wasn’t sure what the character was going to choose when I was writing it. It was her choice. Not mine.

The play was produced twice—once in Seattle and once in Manhattan. I was involved in the production from start to finish in Seattle (maybe that’s a good thing, maybe it’s a bad thing depending on who you ask) but for the NY production I only spoke with the director on the phone once and not again until I showed up for the dress rehearsal a couple months later. It was absolutely incredible. I was totally blown away. I had tears in my eyes. I think I probably punctured the director’s lungs because I hugged her so hard afterwards. The actors were incredible. It was totally surreal to hear words I put on a paper come out of their mouths. I felt totally disconnected (in a good way) and it was like seeing the play or hearing the words for the first time. They did things I never would have thought of. It ran for three nights in NY as part of a festival and on the third night my entire family came in from all over the country to see it.

I feel really lucky to have had that experience—to have worked with such talented people who put so much of themselves into bringing your words to life. Theater, like D&D, is a collaborative effort which really appeals to me. Definitely one of my most favorite accomplishments as a writer.

11: You are a self-proclaimed girly-girl, did this make it difficult for other gamers to take you seriously?
Absolutely, and I noticed it a lot at first. Not so much at work where I was mostly playing because my co-workers know me. I am a girly girl. But that’s just one facet of my personality. Just like “fly fisherman” or “hippie” or “uptight meeting note taker” was just one facet of their personality. But outside of the office, I could definitely sense it. I played up the “girly” element in “Confessions” to appeal to a particular target and also play down the D&D stereotype that says everyone who plays is a pimply-faced teenager with no social skills. But some people thought I was dumbing down “their” game or making assumptions that all women were girly girls who needed to be talked to in the language of shoes and handbags. That of course was never my intention and obviously there were plenty of women who played D&D before I did.

I think once people met me or learned more about my point of view they came to realize I wasn’t making those assumptions at all. And I wasn’t being insincere or creating a fake persona. I do like shoes and shopping and kicking back with an US Weekly when I’m on a treadmill or a long flight (that’s what I was doing by the way, when I was supposed to be answering these questions.)

I’ve had the pleasure of hearing from lots of other women who thought they needed to table (no pun intended) their femininity to be a considered a “gamer” but realize that’s not the case. There’s room for all types if people in this game.

12: I often find that my imagination will run away with me during a game and it can be hard to reign it back in. Do you ever have that happen to you? Has it ever affected a game (for good or bad) that you’ve been playing?
I think an active imagination is a great quality! I’d love to play with you.

I suppose if your imagination lead you so far away you were distracting to other players, that might be a problem but otherwise I think we need more players like you.

While my imagination might not be the problem, my group is prone to tangents and diversions. I’ve tried to curb this ever since I tried my hand at Dungeon Mastering and realized how annoying and discouraging it is to have 7 different side conversations going on and no one is listening to you. That’s when I’m tempted to dump them all in a pit and call it good.

13: Do you have a favorite character that you’ve played? Can you tell us about them? What made that character so much fun to play? Were there any challenges to playing this character?
Hmm… that’s hard. I always feel some allegiance to the character I’m currently playing. In that case it would be Tabitha.

But I’m inclined to say Astrid, my elf sorceress, because she was my first character. Astrid and I have been through a lot together. You could say she inspired me to write Confessions of a Part-Time Sorceress so I owe her quite a bit. She was fun to play because she had such an elaborate backstory and marked personality. Everything she did (or didn’t do) was distinctly “Astrid.” We also had a lot in common from the desire to have nice adventuring gear to our penchant for 4-legged creatures. All of this is also what presented challenges to playing her. I think I loved her too much because I lived in fear of something happening to her! I realized after I started playing Tabitha, that players are supposed to get involved in the action, maybe take a few risks. That’s what makes the game fun. I might have missed out on the actual “game” because I couldn’t bear the thought of Astrid sacrificing a few hit points. Poor thing spent most of her days hiding behind a sarcophagus. (One that was empty of course. I made sure of that.)

14: I personally loved your D&D based recipes for gaming nights. Do you have any new ones that you’ve put together?
Thank you! And I love your recipes! I’ve never had Magic Missile Meatballs (I’m vegetarian) but I heard great things about them.

I found that any kind of cake will do wonders to set the right tone for a party. My favorites are appetizers– making them and eating them. But you have to be careful to select ones that don’t get all over your fingers. You can’t roll dice with sticky fingers.

I make a lot with puffed pastry. You can make delicious pizzas that way. Caramelized onions, gorgonzola cheese, cranberries and walnuts is a favorite. Or try layering some chutney, blue cheese and pears. Delicious! I don’t have a good “D&D” name for those. Puff the Magic Dragon Pastry Pizzas? No, that’s lame. Got any suggestions?

*Author’s Note* The questions that follow have absolutely nothing to do with gaming in just about any fashion!  You have been alerted.  You may proceed if you wish now

15: Just a few questions to satisfy my own curiosity!

*Favorite color? Surprise! Pink is my favorite color. More specifically, fuchsia.

*Favorite ice-cream flavor? I love Chubby Hubby ice cream by Ben & Jerry’s. Is there anything better than chocolate covered, peanut butter filled pretzels stuffed into vanilla ice cream? Well, maybe chocolate ice cream.

*Favorite shoe designer? Contrary to public opinion, I do not own any Jimmy Choo’s or Manolo’s but I do like looking at them. Lately I’ve been into shoes by Miz Mooz, Naughty Monkey and Tom’s. They’re good quality and not expensive which is good when you buy in bulk like I do.

*Favorite accessory that you have in your closet? That’s a tough one, as I love accessories! I’m loving this long gold necklace I got recently. It has these beautiful charms on the end. I wear it all the time. I love my tote bag that has vintage birds on it. I’m kind of obsessed with bird designs for some reason. And today I got the most beautiful black satchel. Feels like butter. I think that’s my most favorite accessory right now.

*Something that you never leave home without? My iPhone. I’m an addict. That and hand cream because I despise dry hands and tinted lip balm with SPF 15. I can’t wear lipstick without looking like a five year old who got into her mommy’s make up.