On Writing: Conan and Costumes

Okay, people. We need some cultural appropriation happening, and we need it right now.

I’m talking about that staple of many Asian shows cropping up on YouTube: the costume drama. There’s thousands of years of history and fashions on record, and they dive into it with varying degrees of historical accuracy and a great sense of pizazz.

So how does this translate into writing? Conan. Think of Conan the Barbarian, or Solomon Kane, or a whole host of Robert E. Howard’s other stories and characters. His stories ranged pulp from Westerns to boxing matches to serpent-men and the fall of Atlantis, and all of that drew on cultures – and costumes – distinctly out of step with modern fashion. And because they weren’t set “here and now”, he could write his characters as moral, or ruthless, or both, as the story demanded. Howard’s characters are written with sincerity.

(A Song of Joy has a great post on sincerity here.)

Sincerity makes or breaks your characters, and your story. Do your characters believe in something, anything, strongly enough to fight for it? Die for it? Kill for it?

We’re not talking about religion. (Though we might be.) We’re talking about the core of a person’s identity. Their line in the sand. What makes them who they are, and makes them real.

I will protect my family, and all those I love.

Evil must be stopped. No one is above the law.

I will be the best person I can be, and raise up those I meet along the way.

Truth, justice, and the American Way.

Sincere beliefs. The kind of beliefs that, if you put them in a modern setting, too many people sneer at for not being gritty and realistic enough. It’s all well and good to say just ignore the sneering, but….

Sometimes, as a writer, you can’t. You’re too tired. You’ve had too much of the evening news. You can’t see truth, beauty, and justice in the world around you; how can you write it there?

So don’t. Break out of modern reality, and all its grimdark moral compromises. Give your story a costume.

On top of that, the best costume dramas showcase three things. Wide sweeps of nature. The power and purpose of traditions. And of course, beautiful costumes.

Hollywood has done its worst to make a portrayal of reality as ugly, petty, and aimed at the lowest common denominator. If we’re going up against that to heal our culture, we need beauty.

Bring back the wonder. Bring back the morals. Bring back the reasons for traditions, honor, and integrity.

Bring out the costumes.