‘En Attendant’ Writers Platforms

An Existentialist Take

Photo by Geoff Oliver on Unsplash

Having written just yesterday about the large-scale reduction in earnings on Medium, it occurred to me that all writers are caught in an absurdist scenario where their very existence as writers is teetering on the precipice, between salvation and damnation. In some ways, it is the same on Substack.

Either our boat will come in full of paying subscribers, or we will continue on our way damned to never make any headway. In effect, we are caught in an existentialist state of purgatory.

For those not familiar with Samuel Becket’s seminal work of literary art, it had a groundbreaking effect on literary and theatrical production that broke the mould.

‘In a poll conducted by the British Royal National Theatre in 1998/99, it was voted as, “the most significant English-language play of the 20th century”.[4][5][6]. (Wikipedia).

Waiting for Godot; Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), ‘engage in a variety of discussions and encounters while awaiting the titular Godot, who never arrives.’[2](Wikipedia).

It is claimed that in part the play was based upon a story by the French novelist and playwright, Honore De Balzac. In his story, Mercadet ou le faiseur, the lead character, Godeau, is a financial speculator with a penchant for fraud…