Olivia Bedford
48 episodes listed below
Strategic revision for messy fiction drafts.
The Better Writer Podcast is a writing-craft series centered on novel revision, scenes, point of view, and the emotional weight of rewriting. Olivia teaches with a patient workshop rhythm, separating editing from revision and turning broad advice into concrete next steps.
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The Better Writer Podcast is a measured, teacherly series for fiction writers who are trying to revise a novel without losing the thread. It starts from a practical assumption: a messy draft can be understood. Olivia spends most of her time giving writers a way to see what is actually on the page before they start fixing individual sentences. That distinction matters. Again and again, the show separates revision from editing, story-level decisions from line-level polish, and useful feedback from support that arrives too late in the process. Episodes often feel like office hours for writers with a full manuscript and too many possible problems. The advice is specific. Reverse outlines, scene checklists, reader expectations, draft analysis, point of view, genre conventions, and scene-level action all become part of a larger revision system. The show is especially interested in why familiar writing advice fails when it is treated as a shortcut. “Show, don’t tell” is not presented as one switch to flip. It becomes a layered craft issue involving real-time scenes, character perspective, dialogue, action, summary, emotional access, and sentence-level specificity. The pacing is patient, sometimes repetitive in a useful way, because the show is trying to make a difficult process feel visible. It also carries the texture of a working editorial business. Olivia talks about shifting from sample edits toward coaching, using dictation without outsourcing the thinking, reorganizing her office, and building more support around long-term revision. Those moments give the instruction context without turning the series into a diary. The recurring promise is not speed. It is clarity. For writers who tend to reread from page one, fix small problems, and then wonder why the book still feels scattered, the show offers a more strategic route. It favors planning before rewriting. It treats overwhelm as a signal that the process needs structure, not proof that the writer cannot do the work. The result is warm, firm craft education for novelists who want the next draft to become more coherent, not merely cleaner.
Made for: Best for genre fiction writers with a draft in hand, especially those who feel overwhelmed by revision, scene work, or broad craft advice. It also suits writers who want calm teaching rather than hype.
What sets it apart: The show’s strength is its insistence on revision as a staged process: diagnose the manuscript, plan the story-level changes, then revise the pages. It turns common advice into usable workflow instead of leaving writers with slogans.
You want to write great books, books just like the ones you’ve been reading and falling in love with all your life, but somehow your vision just isn’t showing up on the page. Don’t despair. It’s not about lacking talent or some magical creative spark. You just need to learn how fiction works and The Better Writer Podcast is here to help.On this show, we explore what it really takes to write a book that readers can’t put down: mastering story craft fundamentals, revising like a pro (and getting pro help), and building a writing pr...
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Olivia makes developmental revision teachable by connecting whole-story diagnosis to concrete decisions about structure, scenes, genre, and character.
The Better Writer turns fiction revision into a process that can be examined before a writer starts changing sentences. Olivia, a former high school English teacher turned developmental editor and certified fiction book coach, delivers solo instruction on manuscript analysis,…
Revision gets a reverse outline before you let a single pretty sentence steal the afternoon.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A practical case for coaching that treats revision as a process, not a handoff.
This episode treats a business move as a question about how writers get better. Olivia says she is pausing new sample edit requests for now, then uses that shift to argue that coaching can do more than editing alone: it can bring feedback on the concept, a reverse outline, and a…
A scene-first reset for Show Dont Tell, grounded in outline and revision work.
Olivia uses this episode of The Better Writer Podcast to push Show Dont Tell past sentence-level advice and into the structure of the story itself.
A plainspoken case for dictation, human limits, and putting AI in context.
Episode 15 makes a grounded case for writing work, AI, and the tools that hold up when deadlines are real. It begins with an apology for a missed week tied to client work, and that detail does useful framing: it grounds the discussion in human limits and practical expectations…
A practical revision lesson that starts with reader expectations and stays focused on what the draft still needs to deliver.
Olivia's replay of a free masterclass takes a clear, orderly path through a four-step revision process, beginning with reader expectations and the work a genre is meant to do.
A grounded look at how developmental editing helps shape a novel readers keep reading.
This episode frames developmental editing as book-shaping work, with Olivia guiding writers from the opening hook through the last page. The discussion stays practical, using concrete examples to show how genre targeting, market position, slow pacing, weak conflict, and broken…
Author stories with northbound momentum.
Indie publishing, argued out loud.
Writing courage, craft, and publication momentum.
Frank craft and business talk for rebel writers.
Olivia says the first closure of new sample edit requests since 2022 is temporary, with reopen dates of June 9 for newsletter subscribers and July 7 for everyone else.
Olivia, host of The Better Writer Podcast and a developmental editor and certified fiction book coach, identifies four reasons novel revision feels overwhelming.
Olivia closes her Show Don't Tell mini-series by making the case that the real fix starts at the developmental level.
The host discusses why mastering 'show don't tell' is difficult for writers, attributing it to the complexity of multiple techniques and educational background.
The host discusses common misconceptions about 'show, don't tell' in writing, after sharing personal updates about his office reorganization and podcast schedule change.
Episode 15 opens with an apology.
Olivia opens episode 10 with a replay of a free masterclass she ran last week.
A developmental editor and book coach shares her love for revising novels and offers advice on making the revision process doable and effective.
Olivia shares personal strategies to help writers hit their writing goals in 2026, drawing from her own past successes and current challenges.
Olivia opens by defining the developmental editor's job as helping writers make books readers can't put down.
A former high school English teacher turned fiction book coach debunks common writing myths taught in school that hinder writing publishable fiction.
This episode explores the plotter vs pantser distinction in writing, discussing what it means and whether it matters for writers.