Well you did a great job on your guitar. The most I've ever done is to scallop one fretboard, and I've recently been thinking of going back and finishing it off. So it doesn't look like an amateur did it. And my B.C. Rich plays well, but it's a bit pointy to play while sitting down.
As far as music goes, I mainly listen to metal and classical although I like just about anything. But one of my all-time favorites is a song called "Roads to Moscow" by Al Stewart.
As far as composing goes, it's easier for me to tweak something than to come up with it in the first place. So I can do subtle variations, fills, etc. but I rarely come up with the riffs to base them off of.