Author and editor Elaine Ash describes a writer’s voice as an energy that jumps off the page. She uses Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens as an example of a gripping voice. It’s full and expressive, and drove millions of people to read a book by a relatively unknown author. But voice should vary from person to person and among genres. The wry style of Raymond Chandler in his novel The Big Sleep is just as gripping, in a totally different story. To develop your own voice, Ash advises writers to study their favorite books and authors, and see how they can adopt aspects of different voices and incorporate that into their own writing.