Working with a word processor changes writers' behavior. They compose more easily, less anxiously, and more prolifically. The word processor makes them want to sit down and write and makes them feel good about their writing. It does this by encouraging prewriting and invention, by providing a sense of control and mastery over the actual writing process, by easing the burden of rewriting and editing, and by encouraging a kind of objectivity that allows writers to become their own audience. In the process writing style may be changing, becoming more like speech in its spontaneity; this is because the word processor, in emphasizing language as a kind of raw material, frees writers and thinkers from a static commitment to their words. Instead the writer continues to revise and rethink up to the very last keystroke. These are only the obvious effects of the use of the word processor. It took years for writing to stop imitating oral language, and word processing programs still imitate the typewriter and the printing press. Thus, writers have probably not yet experienced the full stylistic potential of electronic writing. (RBW)