I like Tangmo write totally from a singers perspective since I don't really play any instruments. My method is based on Rhythm (drums, bass, and chords) .. mostly sustained chords in the beginning. As I'm singing or coming up with a melody throughout the song my voice will go in certain places that in turn reflects chord changes whether up or down. In my view chords don't make the melody. They are only there to support the melody. The biggest challenges I have is when an instrumentalist brings me a song they wrote and want me to create lyrics. Musicians while extremely talented tend to overplay for a vocalist. Sometimes the passages do not allow time for a vocalist to even breathe. They don't cross over from one bar to the next and they assume they need to fill in all the spaces. Also musicians love complex chords having the vocalist sometimes perform vocal acrobatics just to keep up. LOL Most popular music is really pretty basic in the end. It's just that in my opinion and experience a lot of musicians find that boring. So to answer your post I would say that I write from the melody first and build chord progressions around that. I also have my most success when I come up with the hook first. That allows me to build a pretty good story. When I do it the other way ... verse first I usually struggle to come up with a decent hook. Anyway thanks for letting me chime in.