Wood vs. Chopping Block

How do you know whether you're wasting your time or that your writing is working? I ask this because I feel this question is a central theme in "The Writing Life." Dillard makes reference to splitting wood at the very beginning of chapter three, and concludes with the same analogy. What's the significance of the wood, chopping block, and the struggle between the two? At first glance, I identified Dillard's struggle with splitting wood as a representation of the difficulty that comes when doing anything for the first time. I quickly learned that the underlying meaning was far more complex. It was the following quote that refocused my ideas:

"Aim for the chopping block. If you aim for the wood, you will have nothing. Aim past the wood, aim through the wood; aim for the chopping block."

It is obvious that Dillard is putting a strong emphasis on looking through the wood. She even states that the wood should be viewed "as the transparent means to an end." The wood is a negative force that if observed makes the end goal (splitting wood) impossible. When Dillard made this mistake, her result was "less like splitting wood than chipping flints." These conclusions lead me to see the chopping block as a representation of a finished piece of work, and the wood as a distraction, or hindrance, that would prevent someone from completing a task. In this essay, I felt the mission centered on putting a writer's vision on paper. In order to accomplish this the writer must concentrate solely on the vision (the chopping block). Writing takes complete dedication, and without it you're wasting you're time.