I've never played a wizard, or any arcane caster, before. The closest I have is a bard who is a great buffer/CC character. I wanted to see what being an arcane caster was all about so I rolled up a Drow Wizard and have gotten him to level 7 so far. I must say, he's a lot of fun to run but it can also be rather frustrating at times. SP conservation and spell selection have been particularly difficult but I know that these are skills that come with experience so I'm forging on. The fun far outweighs the frustration

I seem to need Empower running to keep things like my Wall of Fire doing decent damage. This seems especially important if I solo as I try to learn what spell combo works best for various situations. I use these solo excursions as learning tools for my wizard. It's more about figuring out his capabilities and limitations than completing the quest. Is there anything I can do to increase spell damage without as severely affecting SP use? In other words, what options do I have for SP conservation? My current build (and future plan) is as follows:

Code:
Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.34
DDO Character Planner Home Page
Level 20 Drow Male
(20 Wizard) 
Hit Points: 204
Spell Points: 1844 
BAB: 10\10\15\20
Fortitude: 8
Reflex: 7
Will: 11
              Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(28 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength              8                     8
Dexterity            12                    12
Constitution         14                    14
Intelligence         20                    32
Wisdom                8                     8
Charisma             10                    10
Tomes Used
+2 Tome of Intelligence used at level 14 (I figure I should have 1750 favor sometime around here)
 
Level 1
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Mental Toughness
Feat: (Selected) Toughness
Level 3
Feat: (Selected) Empower Spell
Level 5
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Extend Spell
Level 6
Feat: (Selected) Spell Penetration
Level 9
Feat: (Selected) Heighten Spell
Level 10
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Improved Mental Toughness
Level 12
Feat: (Selected) Greater Spell Penetration
Level 15
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Maximize Spell
Feat: (Selected) Toughness
Level 18
Feat: (Selected) Quicken Spell
Level 20
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Spell Focus: Necromancy
 
At level 7 I have the following Enhancements:
Enhancement: Wizard Improved Empowering II
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Wizard Concentration II
Enhancement: Wizard Energy Manipulation II
Enhancement: Wizard Elemental Manipulation III
Enhancement: Wizard Energy of the Scholar II
Enhancement: Wizard Subtle Spellcasting I
Enhancement: Wizard Intelligence I
Enhancement: Wizard Wand Mastery I
 
By level 20 I plan to have the rest of these Enhancements:
Enhancement: Wizard Master of Magic
Enhancement: Wizard Improved Empowering III
Enhancement: Wizard Lineage of Elements III
Enhancement: Wizard Elemental Manipulation IV
Enhancement: Wizard Spell Penetration III
Enhancement: Wizard Energy of the Scholar IV
Enhancement: Wizard Subtle Spellcasting III
Enhancement: Wizard Intelligence III
Am I missing anything in this plan...should I change any Feats around?

I look forward to your comments and advice.