Novels are a tricky business. They take a lot more time than short stories and poetry and require more planning. Writers are constantly being asked where they get their ideas. Because there is no good answer, this article will not deal with how one gets an idea for a novel. It is something each writer must discover for themselves.
Once you have an idea, some preparation needs to be done. Research is usually the first step. The novelist must become an expert on the subject and setting of the story or else it will not be convincing. There are two different kinds of research: creative research and factual research. Creative research meaning making it up yourself. Writing up character biographies, drawing maps of the setting, deciding on the rules of the world or society, and inventing magical beings are all examples of creative research.
Factual research can be done in many ways. The obvious would be to do some internet searches and go to the library to flip through encyclopedias and take out relevant books. But that's just the tip of the iceberg, if you will excuse the cliché. Here are just a few examples of what professionals have done to prepare for their novels:
Jane Yolen conducted dozens of interviews with Holocaust survivors for her novels, Briar Rose and The Devil's Arithmetic.
Allan Stratton spent several months working with AIDS victims in Africa for his novel, Chanda's Secret.
Eric Walters, whenever possible, likes to experience firsthand what his characters with experience, whether it's going out into a blizzard without proper winter clothing or sleeping on the side of a country road without a sleeping bag.
Nancy Springer often visits relevant locations before starting her novels
Outlining/Planning
Once you've got the background information, it's time to plan out the story. Every writer must decide for themselves what works best. Some writers like to create time lines or plot out every chapter, while others are fine with a one-page summary. It can be as detailed or as vague as you want, and it doesn't even have to be written down, although it is generally a good idea. Regardless of how detailed the outline is there are some basic questions you must be able to answer: What does each character want? How can they get what they want? What obstacles are preventing that from happening? How will it all turn out in the end?
Going in blindly is never a good idea, but that doesn't mean things can't change along the way. Never be afraid to deviate from the original plan. As authors get to know their characters and the world they live in, they often discover things along the way. There may be a glitch in the villain's plan that was not obvious from the start, giving the hero something more to work with. The landscape may provide a new source of conflict that was not evident in the outline. Or you may realize that one of the character's doesn't like, or is unable to do, what you had in mind and will go off and do something else.
Stories have a way of dropping hints without the writer's knowledge, This is one of the things that makes writing a novel that much more exciting that writing a short story or an essay. If the writer tries to ignore the hints, there are two likely possibilities. The unplanned idea may wriggle its way back in, or you will have a less interesting story.
Chapters
Most novels have chapters, but deciding where to begin a new chapter can be tricky. If the story if very episodic, such as The Hobbit, or Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, deciding how to divide the chapters becomes fairly easy. Each episode becomes a chapter. Regardless of the structure of the story, using titles can give some focus to the chapter and help decide what should happen in it. However, these techniques do not always work. Here are some other ways of dividing chapters:
One complete scene
A series of closely connected events or short scenes
A significant event with its own rising action, climax and conclusion
If the story is being told from multiple perspectives, whenever the perspective changes
One step in resolving the conflict
There are other ways, but these are the basic ones. However, despite all this, you could go the way Sean Williams and Shane Dix did with their Star Wars: The New Jedi Order novels. They divided the books into three acts by using the two most significant plot points and not use chapters at all.
General Advice
Every novel is different, as is every novelist, and we must all find our own way. Regardless of the type of novel, be it a frivolous romantic comedy, high fantasy, or a murder mystery, there is one thing that every writer should do. Have fun, or as Jane Yolen puts it, take joy. Writing a novel is a wonderful experience. Not only that, if you have fun writing your novel, the reader is more likely to enjoy reading it. Experiment with different literary and story-telling devices, metaphors, and ways of mucking about with language. The only limits are the ones you place on yourself.
Take your time. Unlike a short story, unless the editor has requested something very specific, you are not limited by a certain number of words or pages. It allows you to do so much more to explore ideas, worlds, and characters. Don't worry about getting it done, or how long it will be. If you rush, you could miss something good. It ends when it ends.
Be open-minded, and don't be afraid to take risks. Sometimes a story that you had imagined as one thing will turn out to be something completely different. When Laurel Winter started writing a story about a girl who had just discovered that there were wings growing on her shoulder blades, she thought she was writing a short story. She had never written a novel and had not made plans to do so. However, by the time she had written ten pages, she got stuck, with no end in sight. So she though, "They could go there, and then meet some people. But if I do that, it's a novel!"*
*From the Firebird Fantasy edition of Growing Wings by Laurel Winter.
Methinks the internet and reference books will do for now. 
I tend to agree with George Orwell's opinion on the subject:
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