Jen,
I was once a novice just like you and I did not discover this forum. I traded live without trading education of any substance but I was fortunate that in 2004 it was the start of the bull market. I lost some money for about a year and a half and then decided that I need some quick education and quickly.
I bought an education package, I won't name here, and though it was expensive I did recoup the money within 6 months of finishing the course. To be fair the bull market was still at stage 2 so it was also a case of luck. Had I fast forward a few years later my experience would have been different because 2007 - 2009 was an exceptionally bad time to be a long trader.
I suggest you go to the library and you can read these books for free
Secrets for profiting in bull & bear market - Sam Weinstein
Trading for a living - Dr Alexander Elder
Worth a read and I ocassionally do refer to them.
If you want some general discussion of my personal experience here is my email,
Cheers,
James