Writer's block and short stories

So, I'm getting kind of bored of writing my newest book, Cymbeline. I mean, I'm not bored of it, it's just that I go through these phases when I can't stop writing and then I go through a dry part with a story. When i feel like that i know it's time to set it down for a while and work on something until the next time I become obsessed with it! I'm going to try to get back with Enslaved, which I've really forgotten about while writing Cymbeline.
While we were in VA, I got to meet one of my grandmother's friends who is a writer and has read and given me advice on Enslaved and a different book. Some of her advice to me was to break the stories down and make them shorter... which I'm afraid I can't do! After all, it is a novel, and I want to make it as long as possible! I simply can't make these stories any shorter. She also suggested writing short stories for magazines. The problem with that is that i always turn a short story into a novel! Today I started a short story with a character I made up a while ago, and I guess it's going ok, except that it has a common plot.
Be warned that i will be posting more about books and writing! Tootles for now!