The Creative Process

I've been thinking extensively about the creative process lately. It was a huge revelation to me in college when I discovered that it wasn't just a flash in the flashpot. Even though any creative effort takes time, it was a great consolation to me to know that I could build something block by block—that nearly never does anything just flow out of a brain and be perfect.
This concept of building a creative entity wasn't taught to me at school. In fact, it seemed most professors really thought the creative process was a flash. They may have added one more element that was difficult for them to name and express. I call it the zone. I believe in the zone.
Most of us who practice art of any kind have probably experienced both the flash and the zone. My thesis, however, is that 99% or more of the creative process actually takes place in the third element of the process—the work. I believe the three elements have no particular order. Often we begin with the work and later comes the flash and zone.
Put a little thought into these monikers and give me your feedback.