if your finger nails not too long. it shud be ok.. tho soft nails the sound not so nice..

note: i have soft nails too.. i usually don't bother plucking with nails.. just use finger and pluck harder. haha. XD

Find a friend that can teach you. they'll teach you how to hold and how to get hold of the strumming patterns. for starters, maybe try to learn how to strum a few songs. just a couple of chords will do.

I can't remember what was the first strumming song I learnt, but my first plucking song was Romance d Amour (1st part).

do you have friends that plays guitar? it helps to have friends giving guidance.

note: i learnt from friends abit abit. then i self learn for 2 years. and now i'm going for formal classes.