Why I started writing is actually rather interesting. I have some bad anxiety and a tendency to really 'get in my own head' in a bad way when I get bored or otherwise let my mind wander aimlessly. As a result, I started using writing short stories here as a way to calm myself down when I started getting into one of those moods.

I don't know if I quite count as 'taking writing more seriously' at this point - I have been working on a book for the past month, but it's really for my own sake rather than any expectation that it will ever get to the point of being suitable for publication, traditional or otherwise. But I've shared it with a few friends and the reception has generally been positive so, who's to say. Right at about the 60k mark and just getting to the end of the first arc of the story, so plenty more to write over the coming months.