When is a Poet not a Poet?

I didn’t start out as a Poet.  I started out writing stories.  Later on, I wrote plays, articles, and worked in business writing.  For the past several years, I spent the majority of my writing time on writing poems.  Lately, though, I have gone back to writing more fiction than poetry.

I have several ideas churning around and they take shape as a story more often than a poem.  It’s fun for me to write fiction as there are several ways to write it.  I can even include poetry here and there in my stories as well.  

Many years ago when I was a kid, I was browsing the local bookstore at the time.  Sadly, it closed but we do have a new one back in town now.  Way back then, I came across a book on writing that talked about knowing what form to put your idea in:  song, poem, story, article, script, play, and so on.  That always stuck with me.  

Sometimes, if you’re watching a movie or TV show or reading a book, do you ever think it’s too long, there are too many characters, the setting seems off and so on?  It’s probably because the form doesn’t fit the actual writing idea.

I am a poet and writer.  How about you?