Have you ever tried to write melodies and lyrics after you've written the instrumental? This is the order in which I write lately and it can be a fun challenge to make it all fit
that's true, there are many different ways to write and almost all of them present new and fun challenges. i've tried it that way and it is fun, but, i've generally come to the conclusion that it is usually not the best way to exploit my specific strengths. and it's also been a very common/popular way for people to write in the last 10 years or so (instrumental first, then everything else). given the fact that i am capable of bending the music at the will of the melody/lyric (it's easy and fun for me to do that), i have generally determined that it is best to embrace and exploit this to the fullest, as a cutting edge advantage over my opponents in the times i am living in