Here's a short story about poor storytelling.

I used to think the frameworks of storytelling were prescriptive. The Hero’s journey, the three act structure, Harmon’s story circle, etc. I thought things should be happening according to the formula.

I learned that I had it all backwards.

The job as a storyteller is to show a character struggling, and changing. To build empathy.

If you can do that, typically things will align with a format. Not the format dictating the character emotions and actions. Insert mind blown gif here.