I think the first thing you need to think about when trying to phrase a question is: What do I want to know? I find it really useful, when confronted with a burning question, to sit down with paper and pen, and write down what I want to know about it, and why. (Knowing one's motivations can also help one find out what else one really wants to know.) After all, there's no point asking a question such as: 'How is my life going right now?' if what you really want to know is 'What will my financial situation be like in the near future?'
One question can have many surroundng issues. So, let's say you wish to ask a question such as 'What is going to happen with my relationship with my partner?' You could sit down and write what you want to know: In this case, you could write down things such as:
- Past events that have led to the present state of the relationship
- The present state of the relationship
- The future state of the relationship
- How your partner feels in the relationship
- What they want from the relationship
- What you want from the relationship
- How you feel in the relationship
- External circumstances affecting the relationship
- What you need to do to make it better/keep it good.
You could then assign each of the things you wrote down to one card, just like a normal Tarot spread, only one you've made up yourself, tailored to your specific question. So, you have the first card you deal representing 'Past events that have led to the present state of the relationship', the second card representing the second thing you wrote down, and so on.
In this way, you specifically state to yourself and the cards what it is you wish to know, which cards represent which aspect of the question, etc.
Hope this helps!
Kiama