So, to give you a clue as to how I normally work...
I seldom just whip out a camera and start snapping away. I try to define the shot before I even attempt to take a serious swipe at it. The famous American Landscape Photographer Ansel Adams always preached a technique he called "pre-visualization" In other words, see it in your head and know what it is going to look like before you take the photograph. I use this technique, though I don't think it's because of Ansel's teachings, but more because it's a common sense method for anyone knowing what they want to accomplish.
This twilight shot of the City of Denver was taken in February, 2010. I had driven by this location many times in the past and always felt it was a good scene for a skyline shot of the City. I pre-visualized this scene long before I took my camera to the location to record it.
Below is the same exact scene from several days beforehand. I wanted to verify my pre-visualization of the scene by doing a test shot. This is akin to doing a charcoal drawing before you make your painting. Once I saw that my thoughts were confirmed, I planned the final assault on the image based on prior study.
My goal was to replicate what I visualized long before ever taking a photo, taking a test shot and then defining what I wanted to see in the final image. I knew twilight would be best, the lamps on the bridge would be lit (hopefully), the tall buildings would be lit, the sky would be a deeper blue and of course, you always find something additional you didn't expect to find.
If you are looking for ways to improve your photography, give this concept a try. It works for me.