Fight zombies from the other side of a 1 tile wide window, helps heaps, they usually cant attack you before you kill them. Animal empathy is usually great, but I have noticed with some mods it seems to make all animals crazy hostile (I had I character mauled to death by squirrels). Other things that help are walking around totally smashed off your face, drunk, stoned, high on meth, whatever. Happy = xp points, and you cant lvl skills without xp points, often I try and go for booze before I get worried about a weapon.
I find a good build is 10 str, ok dex, 11 int and bout 9 per, with points in archery and survival skills, this will let you craft a longbow and arrows from wood, a high damage, silent ranged weapon that you can get more ammo for in any house. Take 12 points worth of bad traits, stuff like ugly and truth teller are basically free points atm, NPCs arent really in yet.
For positive traits, quick is gold for a starting character, as you can outrun most normal zombies more easily, that and DRUGS, cause drugs are for winners. Hiding in a room with no windows during the day, reading skill books and getting smashed on whatever comes to hand, then going out at night is also usually the smarter way to go as well, zombies wont track you from as far away if they cant see you. Then nightvision perk is good for this too.
To make fire you (a)pply a lighter to flammable stuff on the ground, (petrol, books, wood, etc).
Shovels can be a bugger to find sometimes, if you find a house you want to fort up in, and cant get one, probably doesnt hurt to much just to cheat for one.
GAHHH, 3x ninjas.
GAHHH and again.