There are MANY structures which work well and MANY songs which break all the rules which also work well. Tell a great story with a great melody and you will have a great song nearly every time. Best of luck with your growth as a songwriter.
I’ve got a thing for middle-8s/bridges and I like a little pre-chorus now and again.
You need to know structure so your song can find the one that suits it best. The more you play around with the structure of a song the more you realise whether it is too fat or thin. Sometimes it happens organically, sometimes you have to over build it to know you've gone too far.
True thats a good point. Sometimes the song takes you exactly where it wants to go but other times you have to put in a bridge or extra verse or new chorus.