Artist, writer, editor.
Stories and poems usually start with character & place. Elmore Leonard's advice about letting dialogue lead works for me too.
John Crowley's 'Little, Big'. M. John Harrison's trilogy 'Light', 'Nova Swing', 'Empty Space', and his short story collection 'Things That Never Happen'. Cormac McCarthy's 'No Country' & 'Suttree'. William Gibson's 'Pattern Recognition'. Robert B. Parker's Spenser series.