If you know (or are) a genre writer in the Boston area who’s interested in a writing class, I can recommend the Ultimate SF Workshop. Taught by Jeff A. Carver and Craig Shaw Gardner, the next series will meet weekly for 10 weeks in Arlington, MA, starting this October.
It’s a lot less intimidating than attending a residential workshop, and a lot less expensive. The time is split between studying the craft and critiquing your stories over the course of the ten weeks. I’ve attended a couple of series, and aside from having deadlines to meet, I think the most important things I learned were that I am moving in the right direction and can actually finish a story. Sounds simple, I know, but some of the simpler things are the hardest to learn.
Some of us are even getting published. I’m inching closer myself, but for some reason, I feel reluctant to say much more. Yet.
Writing Every Day 