Here are some things I change right away in my Inkscape settings:

1. Double-click on the pencil tool, and choose “Last used style”.
2. Draw something, then click on the fill color box. Choose X for fill.
3. Switch to the Stroke style tab. Select a rounded joint and a rounded cap.
4. Open File > Inkscape Preferences. Click on Transforms. Uncheck “Scale stroke width”.
5. Use View > Snap to turn off snapping to the grid or to guidelines. That way, you can use guidelines, but your strokes will still look natural.