Michael Gattis
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mgattis.bsky.social
Michael Gattis
@mgattis.bsky.social
1.1K followers 1.2K following 470 posts
He/him
Aspiring #fantasy #author 📖 🐲
Dad by day, #writer by naptime 🧑‍🍼
#AmQuerying
(I'm just leaving these parentheses here until I think of something clever to say)
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mgattis.bsky.social
Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · Jan 27
To save himself from prison – and the world from plunging into war – the Ayth Sea’s most bumbling pirate begrudgingly sets out to find Espira’s true heir: his estranged, resentful daughter.
Comps: Think Jack Sparrow + The Black Prism (Brent Weeks)

#2025Pit
#F
#A #YA crossover potential
mgattis.bsky.social
Gramsay, god of restaurants and narrator of my current WIP, makes his first appearance for today's #WIPSnips #full.
#WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts #WriteSky #Writing
“Your hand is on my cutting board,” I said. She snatched her fingers away just before I diced them, along with the red onions currently at my mercy. “Sorry,” she sniffed. “And I’m not crying because I’m sad or anything, if that’s what you’re thinking.” “I know,” said I, rocking the knife with godlike speed and precision. “It’s because of my face.” “No!” said Charlie. She wiped some snot on the back of a hand. If she’d had orientation, she’d have known to go and wash her hands right away. “It’s the onions.” “Really?” I leaned over my assembled row of third pans, all full and heaping with perfectly diced red onions. “What did you say to this poor girl?” I asked them. “It’s nothing they said. It’s how they smell.” I gave her a horrified look and put my hands on the sides of the pans, as if covering their ears. “Don’t listen to her. You smell just as onions should, my darlings.”
December 11, 2025 at 1:51 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
#WIPSnips vibes for #design today! Here we see the MC facing off against a garbage phoenix.
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingPromprs #Writing
“Want it.” The phoenix nodded. “Instead of eating me,” said Charlie. She pointed to Luka. “And him.” “Eat you and plastic both. Give.” Charlie looked to Luka, hoping for some sort of instruction, or for him to chime in and help her bargain. He was too busy keeping the phoenix’s boney wing from crushing his larynx. From the sweat beading on his forehead and the vein pulsing at his temple, the kitchen manager didn’t look in any position to offer instruction. “Now,” snapped the phoenix. “Give. Hand over.” Then Charlie did something smart. Not that she’d planned it or anything, but the result was the same. She tossed the plastic bottle into the air.
December 9, 2025 at 2:19 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
Woof. An ugly one for #WIPSnips #fourth today.
*rocks back and forth in the chair, hugging self: "Trust the process...trust the process...trust the process..."

#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #Writing
As they made their way back through the kitchen, it became clear to Charlie that Luka was in charge. He tasted the contents of different pots and pans, remarking on their thickness or lack of salt. Here he inspected a cube of cheese and berated the person responsible for its cut size being closer to an eighth of an inch than the expected fourth. There he yelled at another worker for being five minutes behind where they should have on prep. Three different emergencies were brought to his attention in the time it took to walk from the back door to the dining room, and he resolved them all with a plan of action hatched on the spot.
December 8, 2025 at 2:00 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
Drop something musical!
December 5, 2025 at 3:37 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
4yo requested Devo's "Whip It" on the way to preschool today...
Just wanted to share.

#parenting
December 5, 2025 at 2:16 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
Drop someone HEROIC 🦸‍♀️ 🖤 🦸‍♂️
December 3, 2025 at 2:36 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
Just a short one for #WIPSnips today. Going with #dominant vibes. This draft is about as raw as it gets - only started it a week ago!
#WritingCommunity #Writing #WriteSky #WritingPrompts
She might have noticed Ellie’s abnormal exhaustion. Typically, Charlie’s Curiosity would have piqued her into asking, but her other chief quality (and Curiosity’s nemesis), Absentmindedness, was at that moment in control. Next to Ellie, growing out of the overturned tree was the sure-fire way to get the part. “Dandelion!” Charlie exclaimed. She plucked it from the stump and held it aloft.
December 3, 2025 at 1:46 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
First #WIPSnips from my new WIP - the opening 3 paragraphs, in fact! #Belong
#WritingCommunity #Writing #WriteSky #WritingPrompts
If your personal jar of peanut butter were floating in the air next to your bedside table (instead of on top, where you’d left it) you’d have been as befuddled as Charlie was when she awoke in the middle of the night, at summer camp, on a Tuesday. Most adults would have jumped up, startled by the incredible sight. Charlie was not an adult. Most kids would have hidden their heads under the blanket and hoped the jar would put itself back where it belonged, perhaps with a written note of apology for being so rude. Charlie wasn’t cut of that jib.
December 1, 2025 at 1:59 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
When you recommend a book you love to your best friend and they read it, then proceed to rip it to shreds and tell you how much they hated it, making you question your taste as a reader and awareness as a writer...

#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #BookSky
a man with his eyes closed says it 's fine , im fine , everything is fine
ALT: a man with his eyes closed says it 's fine , im fine , everything is fine
media.tenor.com
November 30, 2025 at 7:50 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
Started draft 1 of the new novel today! This after trunking the series I'd been working on and failing at for the past 10 years...I ain't even scared. Feels good.
#writing #writingcommunity #writesky
November 28, 2025 at 11:56 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
Really had to vibe for today's #WIPSnips. Up is a #direction, eh? #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts #WriteSky #Writing
Up and up, certain that my story’s disaster awaits me at the top of the hill. I knock spiderwebs out of my way, waving my hand before me like a priest cleansing a haunted house. Normally I would find a stick to do this, but I’m exhausted. The idea of swinging a stick for the rest of my hike sounds disastrous. What if I use all my energy and have none left to fight off the bear? I’m thirsty too, but risk only little sips. A heavier water bottle makes for a greater defense. The bear needs to know I mean business.
November 21, 2025 at 1:56 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
Today's #WIPSnips from a short story about a story-serving restaurant called Cliche's.
Let me know if you have any questions.
#Special #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #Writing
“But…The Special is a three-course meal. Are you sure you can pull it off on such short notice?” “Easy as 1, 2, 3.” Chef knocked on a wooden cutting board. “It’s too risky,” said Waiter. “What if you did two courses instead? Less is more.” “I won’t make a long story short!” Chef pulled out her notepad and began scribbling out the meal plan, speaking aloud as she did so. “First, the appetizer: a fast-paced, steamy romantasy, in which a human heroine falls for her elflike oppressor. A real enemies-to-lovers story, sprinkled generously with some absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder. “Next, the entrée: a slow-burning, epic trilogy about an orphaned thief who turns out to be the true heir to the throne. Swords! Sorcery! Dragons for some reason! We’ll glaze it with some calm-before-the-storm and finish it in the pan with a hint of all-hell-breaking-loose. “Finally, for dessert: an amusing (if tiresome) and self-deprecating short work of satire, thick with clichés and references to overused fantasy tropes…which, itself, may not be wholly original, but sure seems that way to whoever came up with it. It’ll be a bit hard to swallow, so we’ll beat in some beating-a-dead-horse and add some proof-in-the-pudding and…voila!”
November 20, 2025 at 3:06 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
Remember when you could play solitaire on windows without having to watch ads for virtual slot games with excessive graphics?
November 20, 2025 at 12:26 AM
mgattis.bsky.social
Another #WIPSnips from my short story about a support group for people with incredibly niche super powers.
#Third #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingPrompts
“Let him go,” said Steven. “Cookie bribes are beneath us. We’ll be here when you’re ready to face your mediocrity, Lenny. Third Tuesday of every month. 7pm sharp.” “I appreciate it,” Lenny said. He passed Steven’s mom at the top of the steps and took a couple cookies at her insistence, then let himself out the front door. And there was the rabbit, sitting in the grass, scratching at its ear. So freakin’ cute! It sniffed the air and hopped into the arms of a man – hooded, and dressed all in black – who’d been kneeling behind a tree. The rabbit nuzzled against his ear, as if telling him a secret. “Rabbit Randall?” Lenny asked. “My associate tells me you’ve rejected The Super Pals’ weak offer.” He grinned wickedly. “Hand me one of Steven’s mom’s cookies, and we’ll find out just how many eggs you can scramble following the path of darkness.” Lenny grinned back. “I’m in.” He gave Randall a cookie, then took a bite of another. “Wow. Jimmy wasn’t kidding about these cookies.” Randall’s maniacal laughter filled the cul-de-sac.
November 19, 2025 at 1:48 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
Another #WIPSnips from a short story today. Going with vibes: #spend = pay. I'm hoping to start a new novel by next week. If all goes to plan, I can start snipping from a new source!
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #Writing
On the eve of the morrow, the king was set to marry an evil sorceress. The nobles whispered amongst each other at the general wrongness of it. The peasants, being out of His Majesty’s earshot, grumbled more loudly (and quite specifically) about the new taxes levied upon them to pay for the wedding. And the horses ate hay, giving exactly zero whinnies about the whole business. Yet even they suspected some ensorcelling must have occurred in the time between the king’s quest to vanquish the sorceress and his engagement to her. One thing they all agreed on? Having an evil sorceress as queen was likely to give everyone stomach ulcers.
November 17, 2025 at 2:04 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
"We're a support group for people with incredibly niche abilities."
#WIPSnips #Week #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Writing #WritingPrompts
“We’re a support group,” said Louise. “For people with incredibly niche abilities. For instance, I can make a rose smell like a s’mores pop tart, but not the other way around.” “Once a week, I can either add or subtract a freckle from my arm,” said Jimmy. “And I can deliver messages to people’s pockets without them seeing,” Steven said proudly. “As long as they are written by someone else, and don’t have anything to do with government, military, or crime bosses.” “That sounds like it could be useful,” Lenny said. “Useful for a middle school student, maybe. Or if it was still the early 90s, before email and text messaging came to be.” They all stared at Lenny expectantly. “Oh,” he said. “I can fry one egg per day, without a heat source.”
November 14, 2025 at 2:06 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
#Novmember
November 12, 2025 at 2:35 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
POV: You are a 3yo and your parents stashed your toy robot in the basement (because it's annoying as hell).
#WIPSnips #Movement #WritingCommunity #Writing #Writesky #WritingPrompt
I know I can pull it off, provided I avoid The Guardians. The Guardians run this place. Their rules are arbitrary. Their moods, unpredictable. They think the rest of us are powerless. That our every movement needs monitoring. I shiver to think what consequences await me, if I’m caught. The Guardians wouldn’t send me to The Basement. No, I’m too valuable to them. More likely, they’ll take their fury out on one of my friends; exile them to The Basement or worse. This threat usually quells my heart’s rebellious tendencies. But not this time. I can’t abandon Roby. Won’t.
November 7, 2025 at 2:08 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
Let's try this again...

Bit longer of a passage for today's #WIPSnips #Spell.
Context was needed.
#WritingCommunity #Writing #Writesky #WritingPrompt
On the eve of the morrow, the king was set to marry an evil sorceress. The nobles whispered amongst each other at the general wrongness of it. The peasants, being out of His Majesty’s earshot, grumbled more loudly (and quite specifically) about the new taxes levied upon them to pay for the wedding. And the horses ate hay, giving exactly zero whinnies about the whole business. Yet even they suspected some ensorcelling must have occurred in the time between the king’s quest to vanquish the sorceress and his engagement to her. One thing they all agreed on? Having an evil sorceress as queen was likely to give everyone stomach ulcers. To find out exactly what had befallen the king, the nobles hired the most expensive psychologist their peasants’ taxes could buy. His name was Aremento Spellsage, and he was the only psychologist in the tri-kingdom area with a PHD in both witchcraft and wizardry. The king lay down on Aremento’s leather couch. He was under a spell – one of Aremento’s – essentially a hard hypnosis, as opposed to the suggestive sort that was hit-or-miss.
October 30, 2025 at 2:25 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
Bit longer of a passage for today's #WIPSnips #Spell.
Context was needed.
#WritingCommunity #Writing #Writesky #WritingPrompt
wipsnips.bsky.social ✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag @wipsnips.bsky.social · Oct 30
🎶 I put a spell on yooouuuu... 🎶

The #WIPSnips word for October 30th is "spell"

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
#WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag October 30 - spell Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine. Support others on the #WIPSnips tag! Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social The image behind the text is a border that is black with stars with an orange rectangle highlighted by a purple line. An illustrated back cat is in the bottom left corner, with a few silhouettes of bats in the right corner and a spider dangling down from the top.
October 30, 2025 at 1:57 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
#WIPSnips vibes! #blood-curdling
#WritingCommunity #Writing #WritingPrompt #Writesky
I check through every cage twice, but my friend is nowhere to be found. I risk calling his name louder. “Roby?” Still no reply. Doubt slithers into my mind. Maybe The Guardians didn’t put Roby in The Basement. Maybe he ran away. No. He wouldn’t. He loves me. He told me so only yesterday. A loud sound bangs at the back of The Basement. A click. A whoosh. It startles me into a scream. Then I see it: a monster made all of metal. Sharp corners. Countless steel appendages. And fire in its mouth. I run and hide under a table.
October 27, 2025 at 1:20 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
#WIPSnips vibes. #Total = summed up!
#WritingCommunity #Writing #Writesky #WritingPrompt
Finally, an idea hits me: I’ll write a short story about my hike today. But every story needs a disaster. When is mine going to strike? The path ahead leads down to the stream. My immediate reaction can be summed up in one, great big, “NOPE.” It’s a picturesque scene, but all that rushing water makes it loud. How will I hear the bear’s approach? And there are so many boulders. Which one is hiding the bear? Which dark, bear-sized cave has it chosen to lay in wait for an unsuspecting hiker (read: snack) to walk by? And when the bear does show up, how will I back away slowly while maintaining eye-contact without tripping, probably startling the apex predator and dooming myself?
October 24, 2025 at 12:46 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
Outlining a novel from scratch is like making your own puzzle pieces and jamming them together until some sort of picture presents itself.

Reading your first draft is like realizing that picture looks like a three-year-old's drawing of the Mona Lisa.

#WritingCommunity #Writing #WriteSky
October 23, 2025 at 3:19 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
#WIPSnips vibes! #gradient = hill.

Never underestimate the power of a haunting children's melody...nor the unexpected honk of a goose.

#WritingCommunity #Writing #Writesky #WritingPrompt
Ever upward, I march. I’m tired. What if I’m hit with vertigo, then have to back away slowly from a bear, down a hill, while I’m too dizzy to see straight? A children’s song plays in my head. If you go into the woods today, you’re in for a big surprise …because today’s the day “I’ll be the teddy bears’ picnic,” I finish aloud. I don’t know all the words, clearly, but it’s a haunting melody at any rate. A lone goose honks in the distance, startling me back into silence.
October 23, 2025 at 1:04 PM
mgattis.bsky.social
#WIPSnips vibes. #Charge = cost.
This was a fun little short story to write.

Premise: a support group for people with niche and useless superpowers.

MC: can fry a single egg per day.

#Writingcommunity #writing #Writesky #WritingPrompt
“Then he went and started his own support group for people who wanted to increase their powers,” said Steven. Lenny sat up a little straighter. “Is that possible?” “Well, yeah, but at what cost?” Steven asked. “So, he can make a rabbit come sniff his finger now. So what?” “What do you mean, ‘so what?’” Lenny laughed. “Don’t you want to deliver important secret messages, Steve? And Louise, what if you could make daisies smell like funions? And Jimmy, what if you could…uh…” “Change the color of my freckles to look diseased and get out of taking finals?” Jimmy asked.
October 22, 2025 at 1:39 PM