One of the first things an artist will be identified with is his or her style – whether you be a painter, writer, graphic artist, a film maker, or a game developer. Poe is recognized for his heavy use of alliteration and color symbols. Michael Bay is known for turning the films he directs into explosion porn. Van Gogh has his own particular way of painting, and on and on.
When it comes to novelists and short story writers, “style” and “voice” are often used interchangeably. And I’m a firm believer that one cannot exist without the other, because your own unique style will be your voice—your own use of certain words (I, for one, have a tendency to over-rely on conjunctions and commas. Even after the editing process, there will usually be more conjunction and commas in my stories than what’s found in the stories of most other writers. And that’s just one part of the overall whole that is my “voice).
When starting off, it’s good to “mimic” the styles of those who influence you the most, as an experiment to help you find your own—just don’t expect those works to sell professionally. But at some point, you’ll just have to shrug off the crutches and let your natural self flow outward into your creation. And what you’ll eventually find when you do (often by other people pointing it out to you) is that your own unique style resembles little bit of each of your greatest inspirations amalgamated into the parts that are uniquely you.
So experiment a little. Try other styles and voices. But also focus on the part that comes from you. By doing so, you’ll eventually create a “style” so unique that people who have become familiar to it will recognize it even when your name isn’t on it.