WHAT COMES FIRST, PLOT OR CHARACTER?

What comes first? Plot or character? For me, they've got to develop together. My characters must serve my plot, and my plot must work with my characters. I could think of a great story about a guy who's living alone in a mountain cabin and is visited by space aliens, but what's he doing in that cabin? Why is he alone? How is he going to deal with lizard-like creatures knocking on his door? And the larger question–is the reader going to believe his reactions?

One lesson I learned about...