So you just created your new Minecraft world on PC. Regardless if you're a total newbie that just got Minecraft, or a veteran that needs to brush up, there are some basic things that everyone needs to do. In this article I'm going to assume you're on easy or higher, without mods or cheats. I will also assume you are on a 1.8 version, and as I stated before, on the PC version. Now that we've got that out of the way, on to the important stuff.

Getting Started (again or for the first time)
Starting afresh can be fun, just be careful you don't mess yourself up by forgetting how to begin.

Part One, Day One
 This is usually fairly easy. Most people start out by punching wood, crafting a bench and some tools, and then pick a place to live. I would suggest crafting a wooden pickaxe, then finding some exposed stone or digging  a stairway down and then making the rest of your tools from cobble. It helps not only pick up the pace and get to the interesting part faster, but also better prepares you for the inevitable night.

Checklist #1:
Collect wood
Collect food
Make basic stone tool set (including sword)
Make chests to store items (optional since you may not have gotten much)
Go mining (optional for the first day)

And here comes nighttime. Part Two of Day One.

 Shelter can be whatever you imagine. You could do anything from hole yourself up in a shallow cave, camp on a tree, or build a small structure on the surface. My suggestion, if you build on the surface, is to make a 5 by 5 box with 2-block-high walls. Hacking a 1 by 2 doorway into one wall and replacing it with a door makes for easy access for you, but still keeps out those pesky zombies and skeletons. If you go with the roofless model making sure no mobs can climb onto and jump over your wall is a must, as is lighting it up with torches. Remember, if you didn't acquire any Coal you can still make torches with Charcoal. One wood log of any kind in a furnace, fueled with planks (each plank can smelt about 1 object, so I use those instead of whole logs) creates 1 charcoal. The one charcoal when paired with a stick can become 4 torches, plenty enough to light up your small hideaway. If you've found multiple sheep, I'd suggest getting wool even if you don't have shears. Unless you want to wait out the night, listening to Skeleton bones clank, Spiders make their weird noise and Zombie's bang on your front door, beds are the only way to bypass the darkness. 

 If you take the tree option, make a ladder from the ground up the trunk onto the area where you plan to stay. If it's a large tree then you should be safe, but a shorter tree will likely need some walls to keep skeletons from shooting you.

 If you take the cave option, ensure that you light it up well and that you block off the entrance. If you picked a cave that would be good for spelunking in the future, block up what you won't use for shelter immediately so no mobs can sneak up on you.

Checklist #2:
Build temporary home
Light up the surrounding area
Make bed (optional)
Insert easy entry that keeps mobs out (also optional)

Important factoid: If it's Normal or higher, Zombies can break your wooden doors.

 If you're reading this then hopefully you survived the first day/night cycle successfully. Congratulations! Now you can continue your singleplayer experience by collecting more materials and building a REAL home.

The Second Day and Beyond
A little advice in various catgories.

Mining
 After the first day passes it's usually relatively easy to survive. Now that you have a whole new day ahead of you, you can get all kinds of things done. A good thing to start  on is mining. I do not advise digging straight down, as you can plummet into a ravine or lava pool and die. My favorite mining method is quarrying, digging a 5 by 5 or larger square and a staircase down. Easy, fairly safe, and collects plenty of material to upgrade your house with. The only serious downside I find is that it can go through a LOT of pickaxes to get to the good levels. Unless you have a lot of iron already, I suggest using stone. I also suggest getting to level nine or eleven and stripmining in all directions.

Upgrading Your House
 Once you're ready to upgrade your house, plot it out and start building. Changing the floor from dirt to something more stylish isn't that important early on. The walls, doors and windows, however, are. Doors are easy, six planks in a crafting bench. If you're going to have windows large enough for a mob to fit through, you should probably also have the window filler ready. Glass is all well and good, but fence gates can make for interesting windows as well. Experiment and find what suits you best, but remember that you don't have to immediately. Eventually you want a house that you like the look of and meets all the functions needed. Storage, and shelter. I advice getting fancy after you meet your needs. Work before pleasure, they say.
(Funny how it can apply in videogames, isn't it?)

Farming Crops
 This is probably one of my favorite pastimes in Minecraft. Yes, it's a little weird, but I enjoy it and it helps me reduce stress. I do it a LOT. So, here's a tip.

 I frequently settle down near water (my first world had a small pond and at least 2 rivers nearby) so I sometimes start a farm by tilling dirt at the edge of water. That way it's irrigated, making the crops grow faster. This can help you grow food while you set aside some space for a bigger farm. If you want to maximize the amount of crops that one block of water can sustain, remember this: A 1 x 1 cube irrigates a 9 x 9 space, with the liquid in the center. Once crops are fertilized, waiting for them to grow may be the hardest part.

Important factoid: In 1.8, rabbits will go to your fully grown crops and eat them straight out of the ground. So cute, but so fiendish.

Farming Animals
 Animal farming, understandably, comes after crop farming. It's fairly easy to breed livestock, but catching them can be a problem. Cows and sheep both follow and breed with wheat. Pigs and bunnies will follow and breed with carrots. Chickens follow and breed with seeds (wheat seeds being the easiest). One trick to getting the buggers into their pens, without using leads, is to place a couple blocks against the fence and jump over into the corral while they follow you. Then after you get the animals in, exit the pen using a gate. Make sure to close the gate behind you, otherwise they WILL try to escape.

Fighting Mobs
 We all know getting stuck with 2 or more mobs following you is bad, so here's some quick advice. Strafe to the side and hit the closest mob to you as fast as possible. Switch targets depending on which is further into your reach. Remember to have your back to an open space, NOT a corner or death pit.

In addition to the guidelines above, here are five tips to help you keep going.

#1: Always carry a ranged and a close-combat weapon.
Clearly weapons were invented for a reason. Carrying both ranged and up-close-and-personal weapons can be very handy in preventing all kinds of catastrophes. You should also remember that anything can be a weapon. Eggs, snowballs, axes, shovels, fishing rods- it doesn't just have to be your standard sword or bow.

#2: Always have plenty of food.
You never know what'll happen. You could be mining along, minding your own business and suddenly stumble into a cave, then get lost. Dying of hunger down there would totally stink, so keep the rations well-stocked.

#3: Always have a crafting table and wood at the ready.
If you can't find the exit of that cave you stumbled into, make your own! Depending on how deep down you are, and the materials your tools are currently made of, you could end up going through a few pickaxes or shovels. Keeping wood and a bench on you at all times can help make sure you escape alive.

#4: AFK somewhere safe.
It drives me nuts when people die when they're afk because they weren't safe from mobs. Box yourself in and light it up, or best yet exit the world entirely! "Better safe than sorry!" goes the phrase.

#5: Have fun.
Yes. I said have fun. Is that so wrong? While I entirely understand that it's upsetting if you die and lose all your cool stuff, or a creeper blows up your swish-looking house, it's not the end of the (real) world. Flip out, yes; but going overboard... You'll just ruin the game for yourself. Especially watch out that you don't take it out on people that had nothing to do with it. Ranting at your friend because you're angry Mr. Fizz the Creeper exploded your chests of diamonds is NOT coolsies.

 So comes the end of my short survival guide. Here's to hoping you found it useful and it aids you on many Minecraft worlds to come, vanilla or otherwise. I may later make blog posts specifically for detailed guidance on some of the subjects mentioned. Thank you for reading!