Have you ever watched The Dead Poet's Society? It has Robin Williams in it as the leading actor, and it was released in 1989 by Touchstone Pictures. Quite a movie, I mean really something of a feel-trip. Anyway in this movie, Robin Williams plays a teacher who is using unorthodox methods in an attempt to inspire his students.
Yes, there were students standing on desks reciting poetry, and there was Robin William's on one too. In one particular scene, he is teaching his boys about the importance of word choice, he says, "Avoid using the word 'very,' because it is lazy. A man is not 'very tired.' He is 'exhausted.' Don't use 'very sad,' use the word 'morose.' Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women, and in that endeavour, laziness will not do." This is a romantic way of saying, "the words you choose, makes an impact" You don't want your story to just be a mediocre assembly of words. You need to have the voice written in.
By the word "voice," I am referring to the tone you use in your writing. The terrified feeling that words can give off when you read a mystery novel, this comes from a strong use of an author's voice. (I think it's kind of incredible that just from reading a few letters that seem to be in the proper order, you can feel exhilaration, fear, love and all sorts of crazy things.)
Voice can really be what catapults a story from good to brilliant. Shakespeare's work is loved because of the passion in his character's lines, Mark Twain gave you the feeling of being on the raft right there with Huckleberry Finn, and Stephen Chbosky's Perk's of Being A Wallflower, lets you inside such a tormented mind, all of these wouldn't be what they are without the great use of voice.
If you think that voice, only applies to books that can only be read by audience's who are 16 years old or more, then you have led a very dull literary life. The use of voice can be in any book, any paper, any sentence! It is for all ages and can always help spark a love for reading and storytelling for the younger ages.
Long arrangements of dialogue is not a great way of displaying voice, and neither is long paragraphs. Readers tend to get lost in the length. To use this tool well, remember to choose words wisely, and always throw in some variation into the mixture. Have the reader follow you words. Take them on a ride. Give your writing body, with curves, peaks and valleys. Carry your audience into the world that your fingertips have so delicately created and let it unfold before them. Make them see that Robin Williams might have been right, that language is the best seduction.