First off, I'm sort of a new writer as well, but I've learned a lot from people to qualify even a measly hackjob of a statement.
So you say you want to convey your characters' emotions and appearances to the reader effectively? You want to write so that you can make the reader feel absorbed in the story? Well, unfortunately, it takes a certain skill to be really good at doing it, but I've learned that there are certain things you can follow to make it a little bit easier for you, and put you in the right direction.
Write in such a way that each sentence follows from the last and suggests the next. Not just in writing tickling stories, but in all writing in general, it's very important to keep your reader interested and focused in your writing. The best way to do that is to write so that your sentences seem to flow together, like a stream. It's no good if you simply write down sentences that seem to have no connection with each other; your reader will just get confused and lost, and will quickly lose interest in your piece.
Read and take note of other stories for experience and inspiration. If you see a story that particularly moves you, study it. Understand why this story makes you feel absorbed into it; ask yourself how the author implements his words to make it so interesting. Then, learn from it, and apply those things you've learned to your own writing.
First, second, or third person in writing should technically make no difference, because each can be successfully used to write well, to make that connection. If you've seen my stories, I normally use first-person, because I personally feel it's easiest to interest my readers, but that doesn't mean that using third-person is as effective. I'd say, try each one out and see what works best.
And finally, remember this. Always, always, write for your audience. Try to keep that in mind, every time you're writing. Ask yourself: what can I do, how can I write to keep my audience interested? If you can successfully maintain that way of thinking as you write, you'll be a substantially better writer in no time.
Of course, anything you just read above you have no obligation to follow at all...after all, writing shouldn't really have rules, or it'd never be as good ^^; Just think of those things above as guidelines. At least, it's how I've learned to write; maybe it'll help you.
And remember, it takes hard work to be a good writer, and if you really want to write well, you'll do fine. Just don't ever forget to practice, practice, practice!
Good luck!