Shelly Mazzanoble: Building Worlds Away from the Void

Did you think of yourself as a creative kid? What does creativity look like for you these days?

I say “creative,” my mom would say “strange!” I was very imaginative as a kid. I loved to read and write my own stories. (My early works were eerily similar to already public classics like Cinderella and Charlotte's Web and would definitely be considered plagiarism if I wasn’t 6 years-old.) I used to write one-act plays based on TV shows or movies I loved and force my family to watch them— for a fee! I had a ton of imaginary friends— most of them monsters— that I would spend hours “talking to.” I even had an imaginary dog named Woofie that I would play with in the front yard. My mom didn't want to thwart my creativity but also didn't want the neighbors to call the police so she would ask me to kindly take Woofie to the backyard. Now that I think of it, maybe my mom was right. 

How did motherhood change your creative practice? 

Well, as is does for almost all mothers, it really ate into my free time! There is just less time to work on your own projects and even if you find a spare hour here or there, you're probably thinking of a million other things you could be doing with the time. If you do have time, it’s probably not uninterrupted time and nothing crushes the creative spirit faster than someone asking you to watch the latest Fortnite dance or make them ramen or text their friend's mom to see if they can come over. And you know what? Sleep sounds really good. Maybe just a quick nap would better serve you than trying to pull on all those loose threads in that novel taking up space on your hard drive. 

It took a while, but what I discovered is that not allowing myself time for creativity was zapping my energy and creating such a void. It impacted my mental health, which impacted how I was a wife, friend, coworker, and of course a mother. It might feel selfish, especially for a new mom who is so needed all the time, but taking care of yourself—physically and mentally—helps you be the best version of yourself. Creativity may not look like it did before becoming a mother, but there’s no shortage of fodder to write about!

What helps you make time and space for being creative? How do you avoid burn out?

By day I’m the Senior Brand Manager for Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) which isn't just a vehicle for creativity, it also happens to be an incredibly innovative and engaging learning tool. The game innately teaches math, reading, and writing but it also fosters growth in areas harder to teach like empathy, inclusion, problem solving, collaboration, leadership, and strategic thinking. I have spent the last year rolling out resources for teachers and educators to use in their classrooms as well as a kit to start a D&D club. I guess I’m very persuasive because I even convinced myself to start a D&D club at my son’s elementary school. Honestly, even though I’ve heard the stories and write the talking points, I was blown away by how fulfilling and rewarding the experience has been. Playing D&D with kids is about as close to real-world magic that you can get. To see their imaginations just go wild and loose themselves in these incredible worlds and stories and heroic characters of their own design. They think of clever solutions and ask questions that would never occur to me. And the whole time, we’re working together, building a story, creating a world, and making memories. I would always leave those sessions full of excitement and inspiration. The weekly recaps I wrote for their parents ended up being mini novellas! It proved to be a great way to boost my creativity, do something good for our community, and spend time with my son and his friends. Highly recommend! (And not just because it’s my job to.)

What do you hope your kids will learn about creativity from you?

Be creative for the sake of being creative. There is so much pressure to have a side hustle or earn a living from your art but sometimes it’s perfectly okay to just create for the sake of creating. Art is subjective. And it doesn't have to be good. It’s an outlet. It’s like eating or taking a walk or petting your dog— just another thing you do to take care of you. 

If you had a free hour, how would you spend it? What about a free day?

With a free hour I might take a long walk while listening to a favorite podcast OR get in bed, lay perfectly still, and catch up on some quality television programming like Below Deck or The Real Housewives of New York. A free day I would sleep in, do some kind of workout, drink a bunch of coffee, try to get in some writing, then drive a few extra miles to the really nice Home Goods and wander around the aisles for a couple hours. I could also be easily swayed to get back in bed and rewatch the first few seasons of Sex and the City. Both options sound amazing.

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Shelly Mazzanoble is the award-winning author of three books about Dungeons & Dragons: Confessions of a Part-Time Sorceress: A Girl’s Guide to the Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game, Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Dungeons & Dragons: One Woman’s Quest to Trade Self-Help for Elf Help and Welcome to Dragon Talk: Inspiring Conversations about Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It, co-authored with Greg Tito. (An unannounced fourth is on the way!) When not writing about Dungeons or Dragons, she’s probably writing about the humorous and embarrassing side of parenthood and her truest love-- reality TV. She lives in Seattle with her husband, 10-year-old son, and geriatric dog. Subscribe to her newsletter at shellymazzanoble.substack.com, or visit her at Instagram and at shellymazzanoble.com.

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Hi! I’m Heidi. Writer. Editor. Mother. I’m interviewing 100 creative mothers, because I believe the more we see other mothers making beauty and meaning in small moments, the more we will be inspired to make our own kind of art, whatever that may look like during this intense season of life. Support the project by sharing with a friend.