Be prepared to lay weeks and months into the groundwork. Be genuinely interested and willing to learn. Find a trend. Immerse yourself in the culture. Go to events to make contacts, but don't let events drive your coverage.
Good yarns get good play.
Stories stand on their own merits. Al's Friday Meeting Communication towers may be killing 40 million birds per year. A Poem for Foster Davis Dr. Ink remembers a friend, mentor and journalism warrior. It's changing policy through journos, not researchers. Profiling the Reluctant Peter Perl dug deep to find what makes Tom DeLay tick.