AS for the novel writing - check out NaNoWriMo and the organizer's book "No Plot, No Problem". It's National Novel Writing Month and it's held every November. It's a writing challenge to write a certain number of words (I can't remember, think it's 50,000) in a month. The idea is to turn off your internal critic and just focus on making the word count - you can edit and revise later. They have challenges and meetups and all kinds of online support. It would be perfect for you and the timing is great - next month! Check it out online.
