This is my song...

I understand what other writers mean that a novel is a different animal from a short story.
No, I do not mean that I don't understand the difference...It's simply goes to the fact that every writer starts out a reader.
And as a reader, you expect storytelling to give you certain things.
However, when you become a writer, now the expectations change, and you approach from a different angle. You are coming with different questions, and not the yearnings of a reader. You are now in the uncomfortable position of audience AND performer, and this is, while not always a happy place, an exhilarating place to be.