Try practicing on something else lest you destroy your PCB pads. I did not have any problems, but I've had 30+ years worth of soldering practice behind me. There is not much to it: clean the PCB off any trace of the mask, it must look nice'n'shiny all over. I recommend a tip of a small flat screwdriver, like from a watch or glasses repair kit. From your description I guess you left some traces of the mask on. Then just heat the pads, add flux and solder and it should sweat nicely. I did not even use any extra flux, the rosin in my solder was quite adequate.