The Fantasy/Reality World of a Writer: Guest Blog: Interview with Mr Motivator Fred Felton

I recently connected with Fred Felton via Twitter. And soon discovered he's very talented and friendly guy. Fred suggested we do a crossover interview and I thought it was an excellent idea!

Here we go:

Fred is based in Umhlanga and does everything from acting to being a life coach.

1. From reading your Twitter bio it seems like you hardly have time to
breathe! How do you keep a top of everything?

Ryan Seacrest is my hero ha ha ha. No but seriously if you take a look at his bio he seems to do more than anyone on the planet and he even wants to do more.
I find that time management helps. I tend to work late long hours but hey I love it. I like to suck the marrow out of life and no surprise that Dead Poets Society is one of my favourite movies. Sometimes I can't do everything I want to do but I always try to do the most important things that matter.

2. Which career do you enjoy the most?

Ouch that's like asking a writer which is his favourite book he wrote. I guess writing, voice over / acting and motivational talks would be my top. However I love
doing social media marketing as well. It's wonderful taking on a character and pretending to be someone else and creating a character. Writing takes you to places you never knew existed in your mind so that's also so much fun.

3. Do you have any tips for people wanting to break into voice acting?

First I would suggest you watch some of the best actors with great voices, Richard Burton comes to mind, John Malkovich, Marius Weyers are just some of them.
Then take yourself off to a good university or technikon and get a degree or diploma in drama or acting. You will get some good training in voice and acting and the trick is to keep practicing your voice daily. It's rumoured the great actor John Gielgud practiced his voice daily. Practice it in the car or whenever you have free time. Record a good demo and send it everywhere from radio staions to tv stations and even good agents. The website Voices.com can also help you. These days with social networking sites you can use twitter, facebook, linkedin and youtube to get your brand out there and market it all the time.

4. Being a voice over artist, I'm sure you have a voice that can melt
a lady's heart?

Ah Craig, I have them lining up ha ha. I might have a good voice but this voice takes practice and if you stop practicing you will find that your good voice disappears very quickly. It's a profession and you have to be very professional about it.

5. What kind of books do you like to read?

I'm addicted to all books by Stephen King. I consider his Dark Tower series one of the best. W Somerset Maugham has also written some wonderful Short Story volumes.
Then there are some excellent philosophical books by Ayn Rand like The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.

6. Describe a typical weekend:

I like to take some time off from the rat race and disappear into new coffee shops or places like Essenwood Market or Westwood Mall or many of the other wonderful places in the Durban area. Valley of 1000 hills is also fantastic as is the North Coast, places like Ballito.

7. Tell us more about the books you have up on Amazon? Are they
available locally?

100 Motivational Tips is a motivational book for people to get them motivated each day and keep them motivated throughout the year.
100 Motivational Tips for Small Business has been specially designed for small business owners to keep them going and keep their business going.
It also helps inspire them to new idea's for their business.
100 Acting Tips has been specially designed for actors and students of voice and acting. It features tips to keep them going and is full of acting tips and exercises.
It features an introduction by legendary acting coach James P. Parker.

My books are exclusively available as an e-book however my new book might be published in the old format. Ha ha that sounds funny.

A link to my books on Amazon is available here:

8. I see you do motivational speaking too. Any tips for people like
myself who find it hard to speak in front of crowds?

I've watched a great many motivational speakers and all it is really is having something interesting to say. Make sure you are not boring.
I suggest you watch many of the TED talks which are available online and you will see some fascinating speakers.
Make sure you keep your listeners interested in what you have to say.
Have notes if you need them. Be relaxed and practice your voice just before you do the talk. The day before do a rehearsal and you will find when you do the talk it will be much easier for you. It always helps to take a deep breath before you begin. Remember those people have paid to come and hear you so they want to hear what you have to say so make the speech enjoyable. Practice, practice, practice even if you do it in front of a mirror. Maybe even rope in some friends to hear you speak and listen to what they have to say. You learn a lot.

9. Are you working on any new and exciting projects?
Funny you should ask, yes I am. At the moment I am busy with a new book which is a mixture of poetry, short stories and photography. Look out for it soon.
I've always wanted to do a mix of these formats and finally I can put it together. I am also launching a online magazine which is also fun.

10.Lastly, if you could go anywhere in the world where would it be?
Egypt. I have always wanted to see the pyramids and the sphinx in real life and see what they are like. Egypt always fascinates me and I would love to explore it.

If you want to keep up with Fred's activities like I do here are a few links you can check out:

Fred's Amazon Link

Fred's Twitter Profile

Fred's Blog

Falcon's Cove Gift Shop

Book Covers:

100 Motivational Tips For Small Business