Word is, in reality, very intuitive, if all you are trying to do is a simple note, letter, or memo. When you try something more complex, you need to learn how it works including some of its idiosyncrasies.

You will save yourself a lot of time and frustration by looking at these short tutorials.

• Basic Concepts of Microsoft Word - from Shauna Kelly
• 5 Word Formatting Mistakes by John Korchok
• Getting Started in Word by Suzanne Barnhill, MVP (older, but still valid)

Also, at least glance at Importance of Styles in Word.

If all you want is something simple, use WordPad. It comes with Windows.