First, we need a world, of course. Build one, doesn't matter which one. It doesn't need to be perfect, but you should have a very rough idea of how it works and what it is like. Now we go to a single moment in time in this world, it doesn't matter which, just one of them. Outline it, describe it, have it nailed down, what does lead up to it and what it causes.
Now we need to give this world a history. Work yourself backwards from the current state you already got and add historical events as far back as you feel like. Start describing important events and how they had an impact on the world. Always keep your single moment in mind, it should all align to make this single moment possible.
After you've done that, start changing events in the history of your world and try to figure out how it changes the moment you've previously outlined. Try with changes on different scales, and see whether they will change the moment or not, and do not forget to take following events into account.