I honestly don't think I'm good; I often die for stupid reasons.

Regarding melee, but also a general tip: try to identify your mistakes. When you die, take a mental note on what you did wrong and try to implement a strategy to deal with the enemy next time. Died to a crab for 10th time in a row? Maybe it's worth to spend SoU on your armor before level 3. In case of melee characters and Dwarf Mages, you need way to make them stop casting - hidine behind a corner, door, and let them come or close the distance (pull them with chains or blind them or stun with an elastic weapon, sneak on them with invisibility, create grass between you and the mage etc).

I remember hunger being a problem at first until it just stopped. I think making good use of your turns is the main part. Don't walk around waiting for enemies to spawn. Don't wear armor that slows you down. Don't lick walls trying to find that one hidden room. And in most cases it's not worth to sleep to regen your health. If you need extra food, combine honey and health potions, buy rations or kill fish (you'll need a good ranged weapon).

Slow/inaccurate weapons are great -- but not for everyone and you need to know how to mitigate their issues. Spear has range and damage so you often don't even notice the problem with speed because enemies die so fast. You'll need accuracy for that so don't try wielding a spear if you lack strength, but an early +1 spear is a blessing (just be careful during the first boss fight, again timing and positioning are keys). Later in the game you need to learn how to manage distance (build it for melee enemies, close for mages and scorpios). Upgraded elastic glaive can give you an easy win. Inaccurate weapons are for surprise attacks. Use doors, colums and grass. Great for assassin because you're supposed to always surprise attack, also good for cleric (easy hits thanks to spells) and duelist (abilities). Fast weapons are great for gladiator or paladin or when you have a specific enchantment you want to proc.