Million Word Dues

So there I was, minding my own business, when all of the sudden I said, "I want to write a novel." Sounds simple enough. I mean, I have read a LOT of books and I like stories. If I put my mind to it, I could come up with a good story, then all I have to do is write it down, right? No.  I am, it seems, a student of all I do. I can't just start doing. I have to study it first, research it throrughly, become knowledgeable about what I am wanting to do. I need to learn how to write. But it is more than that, I need to learn to write gigantic stories. At least gigantic compared to the 10-12 page research papers that I had written in college. I need to learn the how.... So I start my research and find that a lot of writers state that if you want to be successful as a writer, you have to write...a lot. When you are not writing, read, A lot. Ok, I can do that. so far, so good. I started by reading while considering what I want to write about. I can't just start writing. ...