Summarize:

Get a good, current book on the programming language you want to learn. Reviews on Amazon or similar sites will usually help you identify helpful books from unhelpful ones. An interpreter is just another computer program but it will convert ideas you've written in a programming language into "machine code" so you can see things work. Lots of programs are available and you will need to choose one that is appropriate for you. Start with simple things, like a program to convert currencies, and work your way up to more complex things as you continue reading and learning about your programming language. Once you start actively programming in your first language, you may want to learn a second one. You'll get the most out of learning a second programming language if you pick one that uses a radically different paradigm than the one you started with. For instance, if you started in Scheme, you might try learning C or Java next. If you started in Java, you could learn Perl or Python. To be a good programmer, you, at the very least, have to keep up with changing technology. It's a constant learning process, and you should always be learning new languages, new paradigms, and most importantly: programming new things! Being a successful programmer means learning to think like one. You'll need to look at challenges as learning opportunities, desire to improve your skills and be open to new ways of improving your programming process.
Start with a good book or tutorial on programming. Get an interpreter for that language. Try putting together your ideas to form a working program. Learn another language. Continue programming and trying new things!