Anyone who believes that the writing process consists of brilliance shooting forth from the forehead to the page is either a great writer or a fool.
I belong to the re-writer school. For major documents, such as books, my process consists of multiple drafts with each version providing nudges on the importance of the basics.
The one rule that often comes to mind is Dorothy Parker's "Murder your darlings." Any passage that seems particularly good should be carefully studied. What appeared to be outstanding last night or last week can fade rather quickly when examined by fresh eyes.
Some may make it a form of art but for most of us, writing is a craft.
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