I was reading one of the books on writing that I've bought from Amazon this morning when I read something that makes perfect sense and is crystal clear. A story premise needs 3 basic things:
1. Character
2. Goal, and
3. Conflict.
If your story idea doesn't have all 3 then it's not a complete premise. Simple, but you can't get any easier than that. I mean say someone had the following: "A writer who has broken his legs wants to get out of a house." It's a start, but where's the conflict to keep a reader turning pages? So you add conflict into the mix. "There is a potentially dangerous crazy person in the house who won't let the writer leave." Ah, now that sounds interesting. And Stephen King's novel of Misery as well as the movie version are well known.