Some sort of tripod is a good start to hold the camera still. Night shots take a longer exposure, thus any camera shake show in your picture.

If you don't have a tripod, be sure the to brace yourself and/or the camera.

"Plus I just got my cannon and it wasa display so there are no instructions"

Go to the canon site; look for your model; you can learn all about its features there and you shoul also be able to download a manual for free. Also check for software/firmware updates.

www.canon.com/

It seems to me, if you are just learning about something new like shooting at night. You definetly want to shoot digital; unless you have lots of money for film and you are doing your own developing so you can read your negatives properly and learn from your mistakes.

I'm sure the canon site will have all the info you need, including tutorials and links to canon user forums.

Lot of great reading on the Nocturnes website here:
www.thenocturnes.com/resources.html