How do you get good quotes?  By good reporting.  That is, talking to the right people, listening for the right things and recognizing when those right things come out of their mouths.

When you interview sources, try to record as much of what they say.  Develop special notation if you have to in order to keep up.  With audio capture now available on almost any smartphone,  it’s also a good idea to get a recording of all interviews you do (make sure to get permission, of course), so you can play them back later and look for anything you may have missed.

As a rule, look for colorful remarks from the source.  Those are the ones you take note of and write down on your notebook.  Chances are, those are also the ones you’ll want to use in your articles, as they add color and personality to your writing with relatively little work.

Most people tend to speak in patterns.  The faster you can get used to the way they speak, the sooner you can get into the groove of recording quotes better.  Chances are, you’ll begin to catch on when they’re speaking assuredly or with some hesitation.  Those instances of the former are the ones that should make  for the best quotes.

People never like being the last one to know about a trend.  That’s why feature stories on trends have become regular sightings in newspapers, magazines and many other types of publications.  Trends are also fresh and exciting, making them natural material for feature stories.

Most of the time, trend features will focus on one or two individuals who are part of the “movement.”  If a new “space cowboy” look is starting to pick up, for instance, then describing how a guy who dresses that way shops, accessorizes and puts outfits together can be the entirety of the piece, interspersed with some general discussion about the trend.  Same with a new gadget that everyone’s using — highlight one or two people who use it extensively, mixed up with discussions about what the gadget does.

When you write these types of articles, the goal is to take the pulse of the culture and introduce them to the people who may not be so in-the-know.  Trend features tend to be light, quick and easy reads, glossing over the subject just enough without going into the nitty gritty behind it.

Every now and then, you’ll come across something that just blows your mind.  You find it incredibly fascinating.  At first look, you immediately know that other people will, too.  That, right there, is a good idea for your next feature article.

Since this kind of inspired discovery doesn’t happen like clockwork, good writers need to be able to seek out good ideas on their own.  While any half-decent thought can be turned into a decent piece with some amount of skill and a good editing software, chancing upon “great ideas” is what really turns things around.

The following, in my opinion, are the qualities of an idea that can be turned into a powerful piece of writing:

• An undeniable appeal. A great idea should fill some form of need that’s inherent in your reader.  You do know who your readers are, right?
• Beneficial facts. Something about the subject will be beneficial to the reader – one that they will chance upon and say, “Hey, that’s useful.”
• A good angle. Is there a good angle to the subject, one that can tie everything together.  If there is, there’s a high probability it’s something readers will enjoy.
• Uniqueness. The more unique the subject of the idea, the more compelling it usually is.
• Action. Is there something about this idea that will inspire action events in your readers’ minds?

If your idea fulfills all or most of the above requirements, there’s a good chance it will do really well as a feature piece.  Filter them through that and see how it works.