ABSTRACT
Arthur Clarke, Octavia Butler, Stanley Elkin, and Ian McEwan changed their modes of composition permanently: Clarke, Butler, and Elkin switched from typing or handwriting to word processing within a single novel, McEwan from handwriting to word processing between novels. For Clarke and Butler, only the novel containing the change in mode can reasonably be analyzed, but Elkin’s case allows for a broader analysis as well. Yet multiple analyses show no evidence of an effect of the mode of composition for any of them. The problematic possible effect of the change in mode on McEwan’s style seems likely to have different causes.
