Sketch out compelling situations or scenarios to put characters in. This could be a new move, an illness, a collapsed government or meeting the love of her life. The situations will give you a basic premise for you book.
Write down ideas you get from dreams, news items or history books. These ideas can spark distinct twists to a plot or give you an additional element to add to your story.
List characters to include in your novel. The character list should include personality traits, as well as physical traits. You can simply list traits or work up a character sketch for specific characters.
Choose a combination of ideas, scenarios and characters to use in your story. Keep switching between the different ideas and characters until you find the perfect premise for the story you want to write.
Outline the basic premise of the story. The outline can be specific scene-by-scene or a general idea with the characters, the situation and possible endings to the story.
Write the story.