When your first (master)piece is a flop…

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Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

“To become a master at any skill, it takes the total effort of your: heart, mind, and soul working together in tandem.” ― Maurice Young

Elisa’s Thought for the Week

If you listen to any classical music, you have most likely heard a piece from Sergei Rachmaninoff.

His Piano Concerto #2 is considered by some to be one of the best pieces of classical music ever composed, and you have definitely heard Variation 18 on his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini at some point (those over the age of 35 will well up with emotion at Christopher Reeve sitting in a chair, staring out the window, waiting for the moment he can “return” to Jane Seymour.)

As writers, there’s an important lesson to learn from Rachmaninoff.

It’s a good lesson for any creative person, really.

When Rachmaninoff premiered his first symphony (No. 1 in D Minor) it was not a great experience. In fact, afterwards he hid the music away, and the symphony was never performed again during his lifetime. He is rumored to have not written anything more than a few bars at any time for the next 4 years as he tumbled into a dark depression.

Maybe it was the (likely) drunk conductor who could barely stand up on stage to lead the orchestra, and made changes and cuts to the music in rehearsals, which caused the end result to be horribly under-rehearsed.

Maybe it was Rachmaninoff’s new interpretation of symphonic form, and bringing a flow of brevity and theme to the different movements. His first symphony was kinda like a Hemingway style of music, stripping away the late 19th-century flabbiness of symphonies to focus directly on the notes and instruments.

Maybe it was the performance in St. Petersburg, which drew scathing criticism from the Belyayev circle, a group of young composers who liked to pedantically focus on the technique and technicalities of music.

The reviews were harsh. Vicious. One reviewer in particular, César Cui, seemed to delight in destroying Rachmaninoff’s confidence and future:

We’ve all been there, right?

But here’s the thing with Sergei.

He could have thrown it all away, giving up at 23-years-old and deciding to never compose again.

If he had, the world would have missed out on some of the best classical music that’s ever been written.

Timeless songs and pieces, symphonies and operas, movie themes and more…the world would never have had them.

That would have been quite a loss, huh? All because of circumstances beyond his control, harsh criticism, and audiences that weren’t ready for what Rachmaninoff had created.

What You Missed on Craft Your Content …

Our articles have the same mission we do — to help you to make your own words even better!

• (From the Archives: May 2018) There’s a brilliant method for learning writing that has been lost to the structure of modern education. Bonus, it will help you to write MORE. CYC Editor Julia Hess shares the secret to copywork, and how it will help you.

In Other Reading This Week …

Need more insights and inspiration for your writing and mindset?

• Ever sit down to work on a piece, and next thing you know you’ve been on Twitter for 23 minutes straight? Rebecca Ruiz has some tips for improving your attention span on Mashable if you can’t focus for more than 47 seconds.
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• Curious about how you might be able to include AI writing into your process, maybe some of your social media or content? Claire Whitaker has put together a quick guide to Content Marketing with AI you might want to check out.
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• Or, if you are like me, you are curious about AI writing tools — but you have no idea what prompts you should even start with. Fatih Kadir Akin has a great PWYC (pay-what-you-can) regularly updated guide on Gumroad.
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• Looking for some quick advice to improve your nonfiction writing, especially if it is also educational? Sinem Günel has you covered with 15 simple ways to do that (and if you subscribe, check out her other stuff on Medium as well!)
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• When it comes down to it, there are really two things that will improve your writing craft in a big way. Melissa Donovan digs deeper into them, with advice and examples.

Weekly Writing Tip …

A quick chance to learn from the masters.

“A man cannot understand the art he is studying if he only looks for the end result without taking the time to delve deeply into the reasoning of the study.” ― Miyamoto Musashi

Untranslatable …

Exquisite words from other languages.

Toska (тоска́) [toss-KA] (n.) – From the Russian language, toska is considered one of Russia’s most untranslatable words, as they don’t feel any English word captures the true depth. It’s the feeling of utter despair and sadness, an absolute emptiness of your heart/body/soul. Sorta synonyms: yearning, melancholy, ennui, depression

This Week’s Writing Prompt …

We often do our thinking when we write.

What was it like when you premiered your first big piece? Was the reception good? Not-so-good? Did it hold you back? Are you still holding back? Or have you put it out to the world and never looked back?

For the Upcoming Week …

Because we all need a good chuckle to start things off right!

Being book smart doesn’t mean we are door smart.

Till next time!

PS - The Winter 2023 registration for Become a Master Writer opens at noon on Tuesday, February 14th (Happy Valentine’s Day! ) Join the waitlist to get notified first…and see what other goodies first-in-line students will get!