This is a guide to surviving your first night in minecraft. So to start once you spawn you have to find wood (if you spawned on a small island without trees well... that's your bad luck!) To get wood you walk up to a tree and punch it until it breaks a block of wood will pop out you can collect this. Continue punching until you have thirteen blocks.

Now crafting. to craft open up your crafting menu. Craft one wood plank then craft a crafting table to craft more things. You will place it in your shelter.

So to find a location. The first thing you want to look for is a cave. Once you find a cave you have to find coal. Once you find a good patch you can mine it using a wood pickax.