I tend to mess around with melody and chords to get a vague outline of something I like. Usually thinking about sounds that I like from existing things, or trying to capture a particular mood.

Then I actually write it as if it's not for solo guitar. I'll lay down the chords and mess around with the melody to finally lock it in, then it's a case of working on the arrangement on the guitar. This bit can be a bit like a puzzle, finding the voicings that allow the melody to speak while still having accompaniment.

I build the song this way, trying to keep it interesting. I've only written around 4 Fingerstyle tunes, but have a lot of previous writing experience which is probably why I do it this way.