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This is awesome.

A general cane guide for writers and artists (from a cane user, writer, and artist!)

Disclaimer: Though I have been using a cane for 6 years, I am not a doctor, nor am I by any means an expert. This guide is true to my experience, but there are as many ways to use a cane as there are cane users!

This guide will not include: White canes for blindness, crutches, walkers, or wheelchairs as I have no personal experience with these.

This is meant to be a general guide to get you started and avoid some common mishaps/misconceptions in your writing, but you absolutely should continue to do your own research outside of this guide!

This is NOT a medical resource!!! And never tell a real person you think they're using a cane wrong!

The biggest recurring problem I've seen is using the cane on the wrong side. The cane goes on the opposite side of the pain! If your character has even-sided pain or needs it for balance/weakness, then use the cane in the non-dominant hand to keep the dominant hand free. Some cane users also switch sides to give their arm a rest!

A cane takes about 20% of your weight off the opposite leg. It should fit within your natural gait and become something of an extension of your body. If you need more weight off than 20%, then crutches, a walker, or a wheelchair is needed.

Putting more pressure on the cane, using it on the wrong side, or having it at the wrong height can make it less effective, and can cause long term damage to your body from improper pressure and posture. (Hugh Laurie genuinely hurt his body from years of using a cane wrong on House!)

(some people elect to use a cane wrong for their personal situation despite this, everyone is different!)

(an animated GIF of a cane matching the natural walking gait. It turns red when pressure is placed on it.)

When going up and down stairs, there is an ideal standard: You want to use the handrail and the cane at the same time, or prioritize the handrail if it's only on one side. When going up stairs you lead with your good leg and follow with the cane and hurt leg together. When going down stairs you lead with the cane and the bad leg and follow with the good leg!

Realistically though, many people don't move out of the way for cane users to access the railing, many stairs don't have railings, and many are wet, rusty, or generally not ideal to grip.

In these cases, if you have a friend nearby, holding on to them is a good idea. Or, take it one step at a time carefully if you're alone.

Now we come to a very common mistake I see... Using fashion canes for medical use!

(These are 4 broad shapes, but there is INCREDIBLE variation in cane handles. Research heavily what will be best for your character's specific needs!)

The handle is the contact point for all the weight you're putting on your cane, and that pressure is being put onto your hand, wrist, and shoulder. So the shape is very important for long term use!

Knob handles (and very decorative handles) are not used for medical use for this reason. It adds extra stress to the body and can damage your hand to put constant pressure onto these painful shapes.

The weight of a cane is also incredibly important, as a heavier cane will cause wear on your body much faster. When you're using it all day, it gets heavy fast! If your character struggles with weakness, then they won't want a heavy cane if they can help it!

This is also part of why sword canes aren't usually very viable for medical use (along with them usually being knob handles) is that swords are extra weight!

However, a small knife or perhaps a retractable blade hidden within the base might be viable even for weak characters.

Bases have a lot of variability as well, and the modern standard is generally adjustable bases. Adjustable canes are very handy if your character regularly changes shoe height, for instance (gotta keep the height at your hip!)

Canes help on most terrain with their standard base and structure. But for some terrain, you might want a different base, or to forego the cane entirely! This article covers it pretty well.

Many cane users decorate their canes! Stickers are incredibly common, and painting canes is relatively common as well! You'll also see people replacing the standard wrist strap with a personalized one, or even adding a small charm to the ring the strap connects to. (nothing too large, or it gets annoying as the cane is swinging around everywhere)

(my canes, for reference)

If your character uses a cane full time, then they might also have multiple canes that look different aesthetically to match their outfits!

When it comes to practical things outside of the cane, you reasonably only have one hand available while it's being used. Many people will hook their cane onto their arm or let it dangle on the strap (if they have one) while using their cane arm, but it's often significantly less convenient than 2 hands. But, if you need 2 hands, then it's either setting the cane down or letting it hang!

For this reason, optimizing one handed use is ideal! Keeping bags/items on the side of your free hand helps keep your items accessible.

When sitting, the cane either leans against a wall or table, goes under the chair, or hooks onto the back of the chair. (It often falls when hanging off of a chair, in my experience)

When getting up, the user will either use their cane to help them balance/support as they stand, or get up and then grab their cane. This depends on what it's being used for (balance vs pain when walking, for instance!)

That's everything I can think of for now. Thank you for reading my long-but-absolutely-not-comprehensive list of things to keep in mind when writing or drawing a cane user!

Happy disability pride month! Go forth and make more characters use canes!!!

[andysartstuff]

Yes. F### the haters.

we DO grow old and happy. btw.

[andysartstuff]

I don't have a laptop atm, but my cat LOVES to lay on my phone, my tablet, my switch... Any electronic that takes my attention away from him.

[andysartstuff]

ways to start writing more efficiently

stop writing with the word count on!

use a font like comic sans -- trick your brain into thinking that it's not important, that the writing can be stupid, if it's in a stupid font (if you can't tell i despise comic sans)

time yourself to get to a goal

or give yourself a certain amount of time

quantity >> quality in the first draft(s)!

jot down what you want to happen in that chapter

try organizing your writing (nanowrimo, for example)

do *not* reread! it doesn't need to make sense, it just needs to be there

try not to stick yourself to something you saw on tumblr. what works for someone else doesn't necessarily work for you!

take breaks. time those breaks.

practice writing short stories / oneshots of your characters.

try getting all your writing done within a certain goal (as much as I can for 30 minutes) rather than writing 5 minutes on or off

write down every little wormy idea that comes into your brain! sure, it's probably for a different plot, but maybe you can work it in somehow?

on that note, mash elements of your plots together rather than starting a whole new story

see maybe what little writing competitions you can submit your work to

proclaim your goal to the wide web for some peer pressure

rewards yourself. cheer on every thousand-word milestone. brag to your friends that you've written something, anything.

don't think of the big goal—don't think of publishing, or posting, etc. think of the end of your chapter, the development of your character, where it goes.

switch your writing environment! where are you most productive?

make a playlist only for when you write. never for anything else.

getting off tumblr, probably.

have people remind you of your goals.

remember that it all comes with discipline, but also your mental health is the most important!! don't sacrifice half your sleep to meet your nanowrimo goals. try to recognize when it's taking you too long and close the document. do something else. come back later.

take care of yourself. <3 use this post as a breather (or reminder to start!)

[andysartstuff]

misty morning spent in the mountains 🌸🌷🌺✨ follow me on twitter / instagram / shop / buy a wallpapers or leave a tip

[andysartstuff]

“we’re happy to be the boat that takes you to the island of misfit toys”

[andysartstuff]

If you want to become the best version of yourself you need to:

1. Take ownership of your actions. Good, bad, past mistakes and past wins. Everything. Figure out who you really are, not who you think you are.

2. Change your habits to support your growth. What got you here is not going to get you there. Your actions need to align with the version of yourself you want to become. This doesn’t mean adding to your current habits, it means replacing them.

3. Make health & happiness a priority. Self love shows on how you prioritize your health and your well being. You can’t make your dreams come true if you don’t put yourself first. They depend on you.

4. Learn to say no & develop boundaries. Stand up for yourself. Don’t get caught up with distractions. Not everyone will be able to go where you are going. It is okay to say no to things that do not align with the things you want. Break the cycle.

5. Surround yourself with positive people. Energy is important. You become like the people you hang out with the most. It’s scientifically proven. Surround yourself with people who motivate you. Who are positive. Who live the life you are aspiring to. People you can learn from. If they do not add value to your life, they are holding you back from the best version of you.

[andysartstuff]

Seeing these "catasters" reminded me of my beloved Zeus during Christmas '17. This photo was taken shortly after he knocked the tree over. Thankfully we were smart enough to get nonbreakable ornaments. 😂

[andysartstuff]

Freaking love this style

🌸 Plaid School Girl Skirt 🌸

[andysartstuff]

no one deserves your love more than you do

[andysartstuff]

how is anyone normal about anything tolkien has written. I'll read a line in lotr about frodo liking going on walks under the stars and i will literally tear up. why are more people not crying about this

[andysartstuff]

Omg, I've been wanting to get an undershave because my hair is down to my a## and thick as crap. I wanted to get mermaid scales, but now I kind of want the spiderwebbing.

Gwen Stacy's hair concept art for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse by Brie Henderson

[andysartstuff]

Literally was just talking to my therapist the other day about how much I mentally bully myself because my mindset never changed after being bullied until I was 14 (which was 15 years ago).

Now I'm supposed to write down 3 positive things about myself everyday until I see her again... Which I haven't done yet today and it's 3 AM. 😩

self-flagellation and self-bullying are all bad motivators for change BTW. it can be hard to escape from a spiral but genuinely u have to be nice to urself or nothing will change

[andysartstuff]

Spent my Sunday just drawing JUICY lips lmao. Would you guys want a more in depth lip tutorial? 💋

[andysartstuff]

Currently working on creating a series, featuring Nyx (a genderfluid merperson) and Katia (a genderflux fairy), both use they/them pronouns. Both have mental health issues and struggle with their gender identities and societal norms. Nyx has the blue hair, and Katia (pronounced Kah-TEE-ah) has the pink hair. I'll be adding other characters eventually, but these two are the only ones fleshed out.