CSC 101 Java Hangman Game
<p>This is my first post on overflow, I apologize ahead of time for any amateur things I most likely will do.</p>

<p>I'm trying to write a simple program that will simulate the Hangman game.  My first thought was to store the users input into an array... but I am not sure how to go forward with the process. </p>

<p>Here are my questions:</p>

<ul>
<li>How do I mirror a user input with dashes? For example if a user input is: "hello this is my first post!"</li>
<li>How do I then output a "----- ---- -- -- ---- -----"(including punctuation)</li>
<li>Last question, how do I search a String for a character? </li>
</ul>

<p>I am not looking to copy and paste someone else's code into my program.  But I am unsure of where to even start! I appreciate all input. Thanks.</p>