Hi, Hopefull Writer, it's good to meet you. Welcome to the AW forums.
I just started my blog about two days ago, and I found it's very easy to do, even for an amateur like myself.
I would recommend going to a blog hosting site and setting a blog up through one of them. I have found, through the other posters on this particular part of the AW forum, several companies that are considered decent and easy to use.
The blog hosting company I use personally is Blogger, which can be found at
http://www.blogger.com/
Other good companies I've seen people mention here include:
http://wordpress.com
http://www.typepad.com
http://www.livejournal.com
These are just a few good blog hosting companies that can help you out in getting started with an independent blog.
Also, you can check out the thread 'A few Questions concerning Blog Formatting, Set-up, etc.,' in which several people have been very helpful to me personally in the realm of blogging.
Again, it's good to meet you, and it's nice to have you with us. Welcome.