First off understand that all level one characters suck at everything, period. You are weak and you are fragile and if you want to survive until level two you had better remember that.
That said the best advice I can offer (and this advice will actually apply at any level you play at) is that DnD rewards specialization. Pick one or two things that you do and make sure you do them well instead of doing everything poorly. This means, for example, that when assigning skill points you should pick a number of skills equal to the number of skill points you get each level and put max ranks in those skills as opposed to putting a few ranks in many skills. You may not be able to do as many things but when you make a skill check for a skill you focused on you will have a good chance of success instead of failing at everything you try like the generalist character. Apply that logic to every part of character creation and you should do ok.
Secondly, and this is related to the part about everybody being specalists, DnD is a team game. Each character should be good at something and lousy at something else and his strengths should cover someone elses weaknesses. Make sure that you have the four basic tasks covered:
A melee brute (fighter, barbarian or paladin)
A scout/mechanic (rogue, ranger, bard or monk)
A healer (cleric or druid)
A utility spellcaster/artillery (wizard or sorcorer)
At first level the division of labor works something like this: the scout gathers inteligence on the enemy and he also finds and disables enviormental hazards (traps) before they hurt the rest of the party, if he is lucky he can contribute some sneak attack damage durring a fight but don't count on it. The melee brute deals as much damage as possible in a fight, he is the one who is going to bring the enemy down and the others should focus on supporting him in that effort. The healer should focus on keeping the melee brute alive and in combat but also be prepared to defend the back lines should an enemy make an end run around the melee brute, he should only enter combat himself if he does not have to cast a cure spell this round because his damage will pale compared to what the melee brute can do. The utility spellcaster should not pack any damage spells at this level nor should he memorize personal protection spells at this level, he must trust in the other party members to bring down the enemy and protect him, instead he should focus on spells that can get the party past difficult obstacles (Charm Person can make NPC encouters a breze) or can tip the odds in combat by hampering or delaying the enemy (Sleep, Grease, Ray of Enfeeblement). I suggest you play a dwarf or human Fighter, a halfling or human Rogue, a human or elf Cleric and a gnome or elf Wizard. The classic party is classic for a reason.
Hope that helps.
