You can also find pieces of information that might lead to understanding how a character should play by looking at character specific matchup threads. For instance, I started off playing Hakumen, and almost every matchup is like "Hey, 4C him!" At first I wasn't sure how exactly one was supposed to zone with this, but when the stressed importance of it in almost every matchup sank in, I stuck to it until it felt more natural. Generally a matchup thread will tell you some tools that are most effective against certain matchups. Explore them and see how it works out.
Also, once you start actively playing people (online at least,) save replays! Even bad ones! Not only can you analyze them at a later date if you want to figure out why you got stomped so bad, but they are an incredible morale booster down the road when you are watching old replays and saying "Wow, what was I doing?"
Do not give up! Some people might put you down, but as mAc said, persistence is your greatest ally in this genre. We were all new once. I have only been playing this genre for about two and a half months and I am generally immensely satisfied with where I stand now, in spite of being frankly not very good. The mechanics and what kind of tricks the roster has in their arsenal can only come from total experience. Don't be afraid to ask questions! When something goes wrong or you don't know how to counter something, ask people who have the answer.