It's been a real joy for us to be able to share all these incredible uploads with you and host some truly insightful workshops for you over this weekend for Upload Festival 2022.

You can listen to and watch the programmes via the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds or head back to this page any time to discover them again.

Don't forget that BBC Upload is here for you all year round as a place for you to showcase whatever you are making, creating and doing. Upload it to the team where you live in England and Scotland by heading to bbc.co.uk/upload now

We thought we'd leave you with some top tips from one of our guests from the Comedy Stage programme.

Celya AB was a finalist in the 2021 BBC New Comedy Awards. She been chatting to Adam Crowther about how she started out in comedy, how she got offered her first stand-up gig and how comedian Joe Lycett gave her the confidence to pursue comedy after they got chatting on a night out!

Here are Celya's top tips on getting into comedy:

1. Book your first gig - it could be three months away, it could be six months away, but book that first gig!
2. Write material - Start out aiming to write a short five minute set. Don't over stretch yourself.
3. Aim for just one laugh - In that first gig aim for just one laugh. If you can get one laugh in your first gig then you've achieved something.
4. Book your next gig - If your first gig went well, great! Book your next gig. If your first gig didn't go well, oh well! Book your next gig anyway! It gives you something to aim for.
5. Be nice to people - Surround yourself with a little crew who you can support and who will support you.

You might have just seen or heard a snippet of the piece 'Date' by Stratford-upon-Avon based playwright Bernard Hall on our Writers' Stage. Now you can watch the full version below.

Bernard submitted this to BBC CWR. It begins in that all-too-familiar way... a guy and a girl who meet for a first date. On Zoom...

Anna Southgate submitted her creation 'Self Tape' to the BBC Radio London Upload team. It tells the tale of Jo, a once a successful actress who these days has a new full time job - she’s a mother.

On the uploader Anna tells us "She’s also a wife, a sister and a daughter. Yet none of these roles is enough to nourish her. After calling up her former agent announcing she’s ready to make a come-back, Jo records a self tape. With it, her long-lost romance with the camera is rekindled. Soon, Jo is recording an array of characters of her own devising and posting them online. At first these personas offer her an escape from the loneliness and monotony of motherhood; then she weaponises them against those who have wronged her. But as Jo loses the battle with alcoholism, they begin to take over, revealing the traumas that have brought her to this place in her life. Only now the world is watching."

Watch the video in full below:

BBC Radio Manchester's Upload presenter David Scott and BBC Radio Newcastle's Tamsin Robson will be guiding you through the handpicked uploads that we've lined up for you on our Writers' Stage.

Watch the show, presented from MediaCityUK, at the top of this page.

Such brilliant insights from our final workshop of Upload Festival weekend!

Chris Lander from Blue Book Artist Management was alongside a stellar panel of new comedians: BBC New Comedy Awards winner Anna Thomas, Finlay Christie, Vittorio Angelone and Diona Doherty. All shared such useful honesty about when, how and why to (or in some cases why not to!) get an agent.

We also asked each of them for one top tip for new comedians:

Simon Nelson (Development Executive, BBC Writersroom) is hosting our penultimate workshop of the weekend!

BBC Writersroom discover, develop and champion new and experienced writing talent across the whole of the UK.

So it could be helping you to get your next step on the ladder when it comes to getting your writing to the right people within the BBC.

Here are some top tips for writers:

Here are some fab bits of advice for budding comedians from our expert panel.

Molly McGuinness is a BBC New Comedy Award finalist from 2021, Runi Talwar is a stand-up comedian making great waves on the live scene and in TV, Laura Lexx has performed on shows including Live at the Apollo and Mock The Week.

• Say your jokes out loud - Laura Lexx says you need to test your jokes by saying them out loud - because you often don't write for your own voice (instead you often hear your favourite comedian delivering the line) - so you need to test how it sounds when it comes out your mouth.
• Take a moment to look around the room- Molly McGuinness recommends taking in your surroundings when you walk on-stage. It can help you to relax into your set.
• Feel the silence, don't fill it - Runi Talwar says silence in a set isn't always a bad thing. Don't fear it. You can use it to your advantage.
• Reverse engineer your joke - think it through to identify which word is the funny word, the moment where you give the audience all of the information they need in order to find the overall joke funny. Then structure the joke so that you give them that last bit of information they need to find it funny ...and then SHUT UP! Don't laugh nervously with them, don't start saying 'Do you know what I mean?' It's the audience's turn to make the noise now, hold your silence. (Laura Lexx.)
• Know that nobody cares about your performance as much as you do - this isn't a negative, it's freeing! (Runi Talwar.)
• Just keep gigging and writing. Everyone's path is different, just keep doing it! (Molly McGuinness.)
• When the time comes to transition from open mic to paid gigs, ask for what you need. When you are done with open mics and you feel ready to move to paid gigs, ask for what you need. Even if it's just to get £15 to cover your taxi, decide the point you're going to do that and just tell bookers that that is your fee. (Laura Lexx.)

Image source, Jon Blake

Prolific, award-winning children's author Jon Blake has just run a brilliant workshop on writing for kids (with a few unexpected cameos from his lovely daughter Zazie too!)

Here are just a couple of his tips:

• Just keep writing. It took me ten years to get published.
• Spend time early on in your project really tuning into the specific core idea of your story.
• There's no right or wrong way to write. Find your own rhythm and then be disciplined about it. Jon says "I would tend to write intensively for a month and then have a month away from writing. It might suit you better to write every day. You need to find what suits you, your energy and your projects. If you have the energy, write as much as you can!"

Sunday's workshops are go!

They say that "everyone's got a book in them". But has everyone got a children's book in them? Author Jon Blake is sharing loads of insight into what's involved with writing a children's book and helping you get started on writing for a young audience. Jon's written more than 60 titles, is a BBC award winner and teaches creative writing - so he's perfectly placed to give the best advice.

Welcome back to Upload Festival 2022! We had a really busy day yesterday with five workshops and our Comedy Stage showcase last night. But today we've got another four workshops for you and our Writers' Stage programme tonight too!

Here's our schedule of events!

Sunday 19 June - Workshops

• 11:30-12:30 -Writing For Children with Jon Blake, external
• 13:00-14:00 -Getting Started in Stand-Up with Mark Olver, Laura Lexx and Molly McGuinness, external
• 14:30-15:30 -BBC Writersroom: Who they are and how they can help you, external
• 16:00-17:00 -Getting Yourself A Comedy Agent, external

Click on the workshop titles to book yourself a space for free.

The Writers' Stage

• 21:00 - Listen on BBC Sounds or watch on BBC iPlayer as David Scott from BBC Radio Manchester and Tamsin Robson from BBC Radio Newcastle guide you through a host of writers, poets, spoken word performances and drama that has been sent in on the uploader across England and Scotland.

You can get involved with the conversation today by using the hashtag #BBCUploadFestival, external and tagging @BBCUpload in your posts on Twitter , externaland Instagram, external.

Thanks for joining us for The Upload Festival Comedy Stage from Coventry's Assembly Festival Garden!

We've loved showcasing some amazing stand-up comedy, sketches, character comedy and hearing from our incredible guest Celya AB.

Don't forget that we'll be back tomorrow morning with more of our FREE workshops and tomorrow evening we'll bring you our Writers' Stage from MediaCityUK in Salford with David Scott and Tamsin Robson.

Goodnight!

BBC Radio Bristol's Upload presenter Adam Crowther and BBC Radio London's Alice Dale will be guiding you through the amazing talent we've got lined up and ready to showcase for you on our Comedy Stage right now!

Watch at the top of this page.

We're bringing you the Comedy Stage from Coventry Assembly Festival Garden.

We've loved seeing how excited the uploaders from across England and Scotland are about being selected for Upload Festival 2022!

They're getting featured on their local BBC Radio station where they live, but also on BBC Sounds across the country and on BBC iPlayer too!

We've had a busy day with five free workshops covering a wide range of topics including creative writing, developing your talent as a writer, stand-up comedy tips and creating digital content as well as a workshop on how to get yourself on the BBC (which you can do via this link by the way)!

Here are just a handful of the lovely tweets from workshop attendees.

Holly Hall is leading our next workshop... If the world of Instagram, YouTube and TikTok feels tempting but all a bit daunting, don't panic! Holly is here to help! She is the reigning BBC New Comedy Award's Digital Comedian of The Year, so she's a total pro when it comes to creating content that stands out on social.

Holly outlined some top tips on beginning the process of creating content for social media:

• Widen your circle - start putting yourself out there, your friends will support you at first and then just keep being consistent, keep putting things out there. When you post regularly, for example on a set day each week, people WILL start to notice and to expect it.
• Build up an "in tray" of ideas - keep a folder or drive somewhere where you jot down ideas and start to draft scripts for future videos. It'll really help you be consistent when you're aiming to post regularly and you need that bank of ideas to draw on.
• Do NOT let the tech be a barrier - you don't need a camera to film your videos, your phone is more than good enough. For editing, there is so much software (including free!) which is so easy to use these days. And you can learn the simple editing you need through free tutorials online. Invest a bit of time and energy to learn it, don't let this be the excuse you use not to do it!

Author and University of Salford creative writing lecturer David Savill has kicked off his workshop 'Improve Your Writing and Further Your Career' by getting our attendees to take part in a quick-fire writing challenge.

It's all about recognising the different elements available to you to include in your prose writing and noticing how much inspiration there is in ordinary situations.

Rapidly, you write:

1. A list of things around you.

2. A list of things you have done today.

3. A list of things you have overheard people say.

4. Some of the thoughts you are having now.

Tune in to our Writers' Stage show tomorrow (Sunday) at 9pm to hear David's brilliant top tips for getting started in writing.

If you've been inspired to write something after reading these tips we'd love for you to share with us. Head to bbc.co.uk/upload and send us your creation for us to feature on BBC Upload.

We're well into our latest workshop, 'Get Seen as a Stand-Up'.

Priya Hall and Runi Talwar are with Mark Olver taking questions about how to overcome the barriers lots of start-out comedians face in cutting through in the live scene and on TV.

From practical stuff like when you struggle to afford to get out to open mic nights and gigs, to accessibility of venues, to how promoters and producers can drive up the diversity of acts making it onto stage and screen.

Writer, playwright and workshop host Clare Reddaway brings us our second workshop 'Getting Started as a Writer' which aims to give you the skills and tips on how to make those first steps towards creating short stories.

Image source, Chris Harrison

Clare says character is absolutely key and one of the best ways to strengthen and deepen your central character is to use a fast-paced 'prompts' exercise.

Here are the prompts Clare has just used in our workshop - answer these questions about your protagonist:

- Name

- Age

- Where they were born

- Their gender

- Their ethnicity

- Three physical characteristics

- Three behaviour characteristics

- Where does their money come from?

- What sort of accommodation do they have, and where?

- When did they last have sex?

- Have they ever been in love (are they in love right now?)

- One thing they need right now

- A secret they have

- A problem they have

- A memory they have

- Something they believe

- Something they desire

- Where are they right now & doing what?

- Three other things you know about them

If you've got writing that you'd like to share, why not record it and upload the audio to the BBC Upload team where you live by heading to bbc.co.uk/upload

Adam Crowther
BBC Radio Bristol

Our team of BBC Upload presenters have kicked off our very first workshop of the weekend Getting Your Work On The BBC, external.

Upload gives YOU the opportunity to get your creativity featured on air, on the BBC, right the way across England and Scotland. Whether you're a poet, short story writer, podcaster, stand up comedian or creating sketches or skits, our network of BBC presenters are waiting to champion you and your creations.

So... the first step is recording your creation. Here are my top tips on how to record yourself:

1. You really don’t need any fancy kit. We’re all for keeping things simple. For audio, it’s perfectly fine just to use the voice notes or memos app on your phone or tablet. Or you can record into your laptop if you prefer. For video and images, lots of our uploads are made on mobile. And for text, it’s as easy as saving your file as a PDF and uploading it.
2. If you’re uploading something you’ve written, whatever it is, we’d really love to hear you reading it. So, if you can, please record or video yourself reading it. If you are not up for performing yourself, we get that, and you can upload it as text instead.
3. If you’re recording audio (either on its own or as part of a video) try to do it somewhere where you have lots of soft furnishings around, for example curtains, carpets, upholstery. This gives the sound a better quality. Echoey rooms (like kitchens) make your recording sound "tinny" and we want you to sound your best.
4. Don’t worry about adding music or sound effects to your audio or video if that’s not what you would usually do - we can put on some final polish before broadcast if it would add to the audience’s experience of your work.
5. If you would like to upload something that’s more than around ten minutes’ duration, then please choose your absolute favourite shorter section, scene or passage from it to upload and just let us know on the upload form that it’s part of something bigger.
6. Don’t worry about what "genre" your upload would fit into – we are open to everything.
7. We’ll get in touch if we’d like to showcase your content. When this happens be sure to tag @BBCUpload on social media so we can help you share the news.

The next step is finding out how to upload the stuff you've made! This video below shows you exactly how to do it.

As part of Upload Festival 2022 we're hosting nine FREE online workshops that you can take part in. There's still time to sign up now to help you boost your creativity, accelerate your career or pick up top tips to get your work seen.

Here are the workshops on offer:

Saturday 18 June

• 10:00-11:00 - Getting Your Work On The BBC, external
• 11:30-12:30 - Getting Started as a Writer with Clare Reddaway, external
• 13:00-14:00 - Get Seen as a Stand-Up with Mark Olver, Priya Hall & Runi Talwar, external
• 14:30-15:30 - Improve Your Writing and Further Your Career with David Savill, external
• 16:00-17:00 - Creating Brilliant Digital Content with Holly Hall, external

Sunday 19 June

• 11:30-12:30 - Writing For Children with Jon Blake, external
• 13:00-14:00 - Getting Started in Stand-Up with Mark Olver, Laura Lexx and Molly McGuinness, external
• 14:30-15:30 - BBC Writersroom: Who they are and how they can help you, external
• 16:00-17:00 - Getting Yourself A Comedy Agent, external