The best thing that helped me start driving stick was to learn how a manual transmission and clutch (especially the clutch!) work. It gets a lot easier when you're able to understand why you're messing with that extra pedal.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/clutch.htm does a great job of explaining clutches.
Additionally, it becomes a lot easier to take off from a standstill if you learn where the friction point (where the clutch begins engaging) is. Best way to do this is to have the car on level ground, and move it by slowly letting the clutch out *without touching the gas*. In fact I still do this when I get in an unfamiliar stickshift cars with a tricky clutch.