It isn’t just about what happens but also about the possibility that opens up for what may happen because of it (always keeping the laws of probability and necessity in mind).
That is the difference between a history teller and a storyteller. Historians tell us what has happened, as accurately as possible. Storytellers present what may happen, it is more philosophy and because of it, it allows to add meaning and interpretation to events. And in doing so, storytelling finds the universal truth at the core of every event, the universal truth that lets us connect to something we’ve never experienced ourselves but understand what it feels like nonetheless.
But to do that, you need to aim to create plot rather than universal truth. Because storytelling is the art of imitating life and life consists of actions, actions that are probable and possible. Without a probable chain of cause and effect acting as the spine of your story, all truth you display is deluded because it is delivered on the back of improbability and therefore inauthenticity. We can spot the message the story was built around if events transpire in a particular way that allows that message to be delivered, but which don’t seem logical or probable.
A bad plot consists of events that succeed one another without having a logical or probable connection. It doesn’t make sense that action B would be a natural result of action A, yet it is presented to us as such. These are the plots that happen when you have action 1 and action 2 which you came up with completely disconnected from each other and you try to force them into the role of action A and B.
It can also happen when you force the plot beyond its natural limitations. A small causal event that you feel you have to stretch to apocalyptic levels because that is the fashion right now, but it is really just a small scale event and would fare much better being accepted as such.
The remedy is therefore simple, start with getting clear about what event A is and from there let event B, C all the way to Z follow as cause and effect. And if you know only event Z or one in the middle, same process just in a different direction.