2/4. Look back at the first thing you wrote. What did you do right?
Tough one. Early fiction? I doubt I did anything right.
My first published work was a book on Python. What I did right was to persevere through a lot of drafts. Also. The other thing I did right was to be lucky enough to get spotted by an acquisition editor. I think the dumb luck of being in a good place at the right time was helpful.