
Doug Kurtz, MA,
CTACC
Writing Life Coach
"I
believe that each of us has the power to create whatever life we want,
that there's nothing in the way except what we put there. We are
whole beings in possession of everything we need to move forward along
our chosen path.
"For me, that means
expanding my coaching practice to include workshops and group
coaching,
writing a non-fiction
book about my experience overcoming blocks, learning to live without
fear or judgment, and working on my paragliding skills so I can
undertake alpine and cross-country flights.
"After that, I'm not sure,
but my journey to this point has taught me that the sky's the limit."
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As I begin to write this bio,
I find myself faced with a technical dilemma, and a minor case of writer's
block. Should I write this thing in first-person or third? If I
write it in third, will it sound too stiff and impersonal? If I write
it in first, will it come off as overly casual, or like I'm tooting my own
horn?
I know from experience that blocks can be stifling on every level—from the
technical, to the personal, even to the existential. At the
University of Colorado, where I taught creative writing and earned my
MA, I saw students, peers and professors (some of them internationally
known!) fall victim to limiting thoughts, beliefs and behaviors that inhibited their
writing and other areas of their lives. The technical and creative
blocks associated with writing are one thing; the personal and existential
blocks associated with living are another—but they almost always feed and
inform each other.
Blocks started to develop in my own life during my years as a freelance
travel writer, editor and copywriter. Halfway through my novel
Mosquito, a thriller that takes place on a cross-country adventure
tour, the blocks became debilitating. My interior monologue was
unkind, my marriage hit the skids, my creativity bottomed out, and my health
began to deteriorate. Next thing I knew, I couldn't cough up a
sentence to save my life. My writer's block and life blocks were one
and the same, and eventually I realized I couldn't fix them in separation.
To get myself functioning again, I tried everything from acupuncture
to group therapy to applied kinesiology—but ultimately it was a coaching
mindset and support from a lot of talented people that restored me to
balance and got me writing again. Since then, I’ve dedicated myself to
coaching other writers and creative types through their own blocks, I've
been certified by the
Coach Training Alliance and I've launched
Write Life Coaching. Mosquito
has hit bookstore shelves, and my next novel,
Hunter's Island, is due to be finished sometime in 2009. I
also teach writing and skill-building workshops in Colorado (at
Lighthouse Writers Workshop,
Colorado Free University and privately)--and hope soon to offer them
internationally and over the Internet.
Coaching is an incredibly powerful process for writers, regardless of their
level of experience or the type of writing they do. It can be applied
with great success to any challenge a writer might face, inside the text or
out. I work with clients on technique, structuring, brainstorming,
problem solving, revision, etc. I also coach on issues such as
procrastination, scheduling, motivation, inspiration, limiting thinking and
other challenges that tend to spill over into the larger arena of life.
My mission is to help writers find the inspiration, motivation and tools
they need to move dynamically forward, and coaching is the best means I’ve
found to that end.
When I'm not coaching or writing, I'm outside skiing, backpacking, or
mountain biking with my golden retriever, Mackay--or I'm traveling to pursue
one of the aforementioned activities. Last summer I got
my paraglider pilot license (Aerial
Paragliding), and lately flying seems to be trumping all other
recreation. Other pastimes include reading and cooking--mostly my own
creations but also the occasional foray into Asia--and riding my motorcycle
around Boulder, Colorado, where I live with my wife, Cat, and my
soon-to-arrive baby boy. I play a little electric
guitar, too, but not even Mackay can stand my licks.
Hey, technical dilemma solved! Looks like first-person won out in the
end. Even in the opening paragraph, when the question of point-of-view
came up, I knew somehow that first-person was the right choice, I just
couldn't see it then. Experience has taught me that the answers we
need to overcome the challenges we
face are almost always waiting inside us; sometimes to find them we just
have to shut up and write.

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"Doug helps me realize and act on what I am already able to do.
He escorts me to places within myself that I have forgotten, then
gives me thoughtful suggestions for developing these aspects into
something meaningful for me."
- Sinead P, Washington USA
"If we don't change our
direction, we might end up where we are headed."
- Ancient Chinese Proverb

More about Mosquito
Book Expo America Interview
New West Interview
Writers News Weekly Interview
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