Things to consider when writing your stories.
History.
When did this start? Who started it? What are the pivotal events on a timeline?
Scope.
What is the extent of the problem? How many people are affected? How much money is at stake?
Central reasons.
Why is this happening? What are the economic, social or political forces that created it, influence it, threaten it?
Impacts.
“Who is helped or hurt by this,” Blundell said, “and to what extent and what’s their emotional response to it?”
Gathering and action of contrary forces.
“If this is going on, is somebody trying to do anything about it, and how is that working out?” Blundell said.
The future.
“If this stuff keeps up,” he said, “what are things going to look like five or 10 years from now, in the eyes of the people who are directly involved?”
For more, see Blundell’s “The Art and Craft of Feature Writing.”