There are five basic components to making magick.
Without the presence of all five of these, your magick wont work.

Balance
This just means to make sure that you are doing the spell for the right reasons. Please think of all the consequences that could result from the spell before you attempt to do the spell.

Will
The will is basically how strong you want this magick to work. It's your reason, or your motivation, for doing the spell or ritual in the first place. The more you want something, the more energy you will be able to raise.

Timing
This is the best time to do the spell. Make sure you are doing it in the correct moon phase, correct day of the week, etc.

Visualization
The intensity and clarity with which you imagine or visualize the magick at hand really works wonders for your spell. The more clear and strong your visualizations are, the stronger they will influence your emotions. The more your emotions are influenced, the more energy you will raise.

Direction
Once you have raised all the energy that you can, you must direct it somewhere. (for example, if you were doing a spell to rid your friend Paul of negativity, you could visualize all your raised energy pouring out of you and into him, wherever he may be at the moment.)