If crowds of strangers are intimidating to you, you may want to print out every bit of information you can find on the internet and start assebling a three ring binder as a reference. I did this and it was really helpful, and I even refer back to the binder on occassions to brush-up on skills when I've having trouble. I also learned a great deal right in my home through watching the great videos that are out there by various knappers. Moundbuilder books is a good place to find quality videos. I can recommend their line of videos because I own most of them and learned much from them.
Lastly, try to find a knapper near you that you can learn from. Try not to stalk him too badly, and he may just become your friend and mentor.