How do you build a big picture/story?

I am deliberately not looking for specific stocks/etfs, but general ways to determine the course of how you think the world will shape up in the next few months, next year, and even next few years?

For example, currently in my "story" I have China becoming more resilient and recovering and alternative envergy and materials getting more interest as people realize that oil will be volatile for a while

From these larger points, I create actionable items that may or may not involve looking at specific trades, but may also say look in these sectors (e.g. rare earths, solar, wind for alternative energy).

Any good guides you can recommend to help me get this big picture on paper, or some detail on how you do it?