I'm a nobody and no one asked me for this, but I did it anyways
1. Listen to lots of Ragtime Blues recordings, spare some time to sit and listen. Also listen to old Ragtime Piano / Band recordings
2. Learn the lyrics, read the history, the culture, and any kind of literature, immerse yourself
3. Familiarize yourself with chords all across the fretboard, make a habit of practicing for like an hour a day
4. Learn to sing
5. Make a habit of recording yourself, so you can track your progress
6. Gather all your knowledge and try making something out of it, like making a song, even a very simple one
7. Listen to early recordings, not only guitars but everything whether it's vocals only, wind instruments, etc. And then back to step 1 and so on
Try comparing your own recording after a year or after some time. And remember to take your time
PS : Regarding what I said in Tip #6, I would really emphasize that I LOVE people who do covers, when it's done right (unlike me). I LOVE it when someone do cover of a song splendidly to the point that it almost like they own the song. Always do and always will. Nothing but respect, because I honestly can never do that. It's just that every time I hear or discover a good musician, I will always look for their original works. Maybe that's just me, I guess.
And the other thing I forgot to mention about creating your own stuff from all kinds of influence that you got is that, or at least in my case, it helps me to remember what I learnt better. And by doing that will also get my hands used to doing all that stuff better. And so on...
I always wanted to pay respect to my heroes, and I hope that when, by any chance, they hear the stuff I make from anywhere they are right now, they can say to each other "This yella ass coon stole that from me!", "And that was mine!" and grin to each other while pats me in the back with their invisible hands. What a treat that would be!
Best regards,
Bluesblabber
And if you feel like it, please give a listen to my works or support me if you think I deserve it :
bluesblabber.bandcamp.com/