Could I write a novel?

A novel idea.

This is a question I have been asked several times in the last decade, so the answer has evolved/devolved with my circumstances.

Five years ago.

The first time I was asked if I could write a novel, my answer was no. The idea of writing a story of 40,000 words or more seemed beyond my capability at the time. Then I transformed a short blog piece for a friend into a story that was ended, not ended, at 35,000 words.

Three years ago.

At the height of my sales, and with my drive to write in full flow there was a good chance that the word count was in my capacity; I did write a story of over 30,000 words before I stopped the story.

Now.

The answer is NO!

I would have great difficulty in finding the drive to write to that scale again, mainly because of the time it took for me to write each story (14 months) and what I got in return (nothing). The case now is not could I write the novel, but do I think spending a year on a story that would not be read is worth my time?