So, I use to write a lot of fan-fiction but then my computer crashed, and I lost all of them (it made me so sad, because I had put lots of time and effort into them!)
and when I got a new temporary computer(we rented it) I didn't want to start one on that computer, because at the time I didn't have a SDcard or anything to keep the story on, so I would have, had to delete it when we gave that computer back, So I just didn't start anything.
Well now I have my own computer, I finally got one for Christmas, and I started writing again, but my skills are kind of rusty you could say. When I re-read what I wrote, it doesn't feel like something my character would say or think, and I honestly can't re-write those parts, because I'm clueless on how to make it fit better.
I guess what I'm really trying to ask is, are there any writing exercises I could do, to get back to how I use to write.. or just get better?
Also any tips or advice anyone could give me would be very much appreciated.

Read! Read so,e other stories. I read a lot and a billion ideas exploding in my head a lot. Unfortunately, I can't really type and my mind goes off topic and my stories end up...a bit distant.

What Crystal said. Seeing the styles of other writers gives you something to hop off of. You should also read RPs, as that's kinda contemporary writing as well. c:

First, write about things that interest you. Things that inspire you. Plots you want to immerse yourself in. Be lost in it for a long time of writing, whether you want to share it or not. Let your desire to express yourself be the fuel for writing. The better you express yourself accurately, the better, imo.

What both Crystal and Flute said ^^ If you feel like one of your characters is out of character, try rping as him/her to see how he'd/she'd act/say in different situations to get a better idea of the character. Or perhaps interview your character and put yourself in their shoes! ^^ Also, if it's fanfiction, maybe re-read the fandom or re-watch it to get ideas, and read other's fanfics on that fandom. As for writing exercises... I can't recommend any... Maybe write one-shots? Or like short stories?

Ditto what others have been saying: read the works of others. A good way to back-up your work, if you don't archive your stories on FF.net or AO3, is to email your stories to yourself.

One way to get back the 'voice' of your characters is to sit down, evaluate them and create detailed individual character bios. Time-consuming? Yes. But anytime you're in doubt of whether they are acting OOC, you can refer back to the sheet and make a judgement call from there.

Thank you everyone, I think I'm going to try to revise all of it tonight.
You guys have given me great ideas on how to improve, thanks again.

I know this is an older thread, but I wanted to make a PSA: Dropbox accounts are free and a great way to keep all of your writing backed up. I use it for my college homework, my actual writing and pretty much anything else I don't want to lose. Text files are tiny so it's highly unlikely you'd hit the cap on the free account storage limit. You can also use Google Docs or any of dozens of other cloud services, the vast majority of which are also free.

The best two ways to improve your writing: read a lot and write a lot. Also critiquing the work of others can be a huge help in showing you what does and doesn't work and how to spot the weaknesses in your own writing.

( Yeah this is a old thread but here is a bit of advice for all! )

If you feel a bit rusty or just want to get better, you should try rping...before I wrote so horrible bits of writing...spellings, puncuation...even my own speech was bad because I struggled with words
But after doing lots of rps which I read the reply out-loud and did so many, I learnt new spellings and eventually...rping is just writing a story to me and all the words I write are free and I put myself in the mind of my character...
So this is also why you might see me hanging around the rp area because rping is fun and helps improve writing!

You could also try reading a large veriation of books and develop a understanding of different styles and find one that suits you and the gener you like most and you feel comfortable writing!