ABSTRACT
A study of eleven authors produces no conclusive examples of substantial changes in literary style caused by a change in mode of composition. This surprising result conflicts with authors’ comments about their own writing and with speculation about the effects of different writing technologies and media on style. The durability of style to changes in mode of composition, illness, pain, blindness, and even translation has important implications for the study of the significant chronological shifts in the styles of some authors and other major style shifts associated with dementia, mental illness, and literary tours de force.
