I'm not stuck or anything, I was just wondering if anyone could suggest how to go about leveling up mu character.

I'm starting over from the beginning because I want to focus on a build from the beginning so that my character does not end up as crappy as she did at the point where I stopped (which was at the prowling magus).
I was trying to do too many things at once, invested points everywhere, and ended up a slow-rolling idiot with no crowd control

I want to focus on swords and magic so is there anything anyone can suggest as far as leveling up and acquiring items that could help me with a more focused build for my play-through?

or should I just continue to try and stumble through with the old character?

Sword AND magic? I mean, you'll end up average at best if you ask me. It's either one or the other.

And don't be discouraged from making a "bad" character. You can respec with Soul Vessels in the game, so it's not final. If you want a sword player that's one handed, focus on dexterity. Strength if two handed. Stamina and vitality (more emphasis on vitality) if you want a tanky slow two handed. Stamina in general if one handed.

For magic you want to focus on intelligence.

Rule of thumb: Always always ALWAYS get your Adaptability to 19. No more, no less. This will max out your i-frames to help increase the time window when rolling. Any lower and you're more susceptible to hits. Any more and it's useless. Unlike DS1, they tied i-frames to the stats in this one, rather than your weight.

I just assumed I'd want a sword anyway since this is a play-through thing and not really for any PVP, since spells have a usage limit between bonfires and all. wouldn't I be shit out of luck when fighting bosses?

I probably wasn't clear.

I'm not actually looking for a specific build to go for as much as it's more of a question of in what order should I level stuff up in? and is it even possible to go full magic focus for PVE, and will it make the experience hellish to the point where I would regret it.

I probably wasn't clear.

I'm not actually looking for a specific build to go for as much as it's more of a question of in what order should I level stuff up in? and is it even possible to go full magic focus for PVE, and will it make the experience hellish to the point where I would regret it.

Magic in DS2 is OP. So a magic build for PvE is easily to get. Just look at what stats affect your weapon and upgrade those. If your chime has an A in Faith, then you're going to want to level up faith.

If you ever want to redistribute your skills just use a soul vessel.

The game can be done either way.

Even with 30 soul arrows and a knife?

You're better off just playing through the game blind so you can understand the build mechanics and learn where all the good items are. Some of the items that are more difficult to obtain like the covenant and questline magics/weapons you may need to look up.

If it's your first run start to finish I'd go with a mixed melee/sorcery build, since they unjustly nerfed the shit out of miracles and pyromancies aren't as good as they were in DaS1.
Hexes are OP as fuck, most of the best PvE ones consume souls to cast, so best saved for NG+.

Go with the Mage starting class, then take advantage of the easy level ups at the start to boost your STR/DEX to the minimum required to equip a decent long sword or trusting sword. I recommend the Estoc, you can buy it from the blacksmith early game. The stat requirements are a little more than the Rapier, plus the Rapier does more damage, but Estoc has a longer reach and better move set.
Then just focus on ATT/INT and round out VGR/END as you progress.

I did this with one of my characters and ended up with an almost pure sorcery build running Moonlight GS. It's a beast.