Just a piece of advice Darcy - try and do your stitches more loosely. If you do them too tight, it's really hard to get the hook in for future stitches. I have also found that using a bamboo hook helps my old hands too. I can't explain why, but it really does help.
Here's a video on single crochet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQUJ3CpS2wI
Anything from this lady is awesome. She takes it slow and walks you through it.