Constance Hale, author of Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose calls voice "the je ne sais quoi in all strong writing." Other writers and critics refer to voice as the music behind the prose, the unique way a writer expresses herself–a fingerprint of language. Voice can be imitated but not duplicated; its rythymn and tone are unique to each writer.

Voice is often confused with style. But style is concrete–the way we structure our sentences, our word choice and use of...