How working at a factory taught me to be a better storyteller

Hint: it was boring.

“I have dared to do strange things—bold things.” —Emily Dickinson

I have done boring things.

Technology is designed, according to the tech evangelists, to replace manual tasks and support the human race to evolve (how, I’ve never heard a solid answer to, but most promise more free time). It seems specifically designed to eliminate jobs such as the one I h…