Why Not Write a Novel?

I went to a Philadelphia Noir event at the Rittenhouse Barnes and Noble last night--wasn't sure if it would be a reading or just a discussion or what. It turned out to be a book signing. There were like 8 of us contributors sitting in a row behind a table of books. I believe exactly one girl stopped to talk to us. I don't know that she bought a book. But it was still interesting to hear the other writers chatting. Many of them have books out on their own; one woman I talked to writes historical fiction and seems to be doing very well with it. Another guy bragged about how his novel was rejected from a huge publishing house because it was just too literary and good. And then a third was checking his book sales on a laptop and reporting good returns. So, what is wrong with me? I don't know why I can't seem to just commit to writing a longer work. I have my thesis from grad school which is a novel, but it needs work. I have sort of an idea for a character and story, but I haven't written anything yet.

I did think of a title I like for a short story, but it's already been used by a romance novelist: "Such a Pretty Face..." And it would be about an overweight girl who keeps being told this by everyone. "Oh, you have such a pretty face..." Dan told me this morning that a recent beauty pageant winner was stripped of her title because she was deemed to have grown too fat. Could this be true? Let's look it up. Yes, it appears to be true.