Pick up some lincoln 5P+ rods. They are E6010, and weld amazing. Top quality, superb rod. Weld any which direction you want upside down spitting wooden nickels on a thursday.
I worked at a refinery tank shop that ran 5p downhill for xray, and even with my lack of experience was still producing superb welds (given a bit more practice I'd have been doing so myself). The 5p will do anything you need it to on carbon steel. It's especially good when you can't clean the rust or paint off the material for a non-critical weld (don't half-ass a critical weld... ever.)
You will get better with practice, I see a lot of potential with what you took pictures of. 7014 is a drag-rod that doesn't get oscillation. Point it back at the start (nominally 60* angle or so), and drag in a smooth, slow, straight line. The weld shouldn't be more than 2-3x wider than the diameter of the rod (not including the flux coating). Just let it burn itself and keep pushing it into the weld pool. You will get a lot of spatter and have defects if the arc length gets too long.
You know when 7014/7024 is welding right when you can set the stinger down on a plate, and the rod will burn itself into a damn good weld, then a few minutes later the slag will peel off in one big chunk.