I was pretty much grown-up by the time I attended school in Britain - or as grown-up as I'll ever get.
I've learned that I get blocked when my subconscious mind is telling me that I've taken the work in a wrong direction, and that once I start listening to what my subconscious is trying to tell me, I can work out the problem and get moving again.
Genre labels are useful only insofar as they help you find an audience.
The mass-market paperback, for one, is too expensive.
I went to college, though I didn't take many writing courses.
Everything that you read is an influence on everything you write, and you want to draw as many elements into your work as you can.