Editing Robert A. Heinlein (section)

==Influence and legacy==
===Honorifics===
Heinlein is usually identified, along with [[Isaac Asimov]] and [[Arthur C. Clarke]], as one of the three masters of science fiction to arise in the so-called [[Golden Age of science fiction]], associated with [[John W. Campbell]] and his magazine ''[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Astounding]]''.<ref>{{Cite book
| last = Freedman
| first = Carl
| author-link = Carl Freedman (writer)
| title = Critical Theory and Science Fiction
| publisher = Wesleyan University Press
| isbn = 978-0819563996
| date = April 24, 2000
| edition = 1st
| page = 71
}}</ref>
In the 1950s he was a leader in bringing science fiction out of the low-paying and less prestigious "[[pulp magazine|pulp]] ghetto". Most of his works, including short stories, have been continuously in print in many languages since their initial appearance and are still available as new paperbacks decades after his death.

[[File:heinlein-crater.jpg|thumb|[[Heinlein crater]] on [[Mars]]]]

He was at the top of his form during, and himself helped to initiate, the trend toward [[social science fiction]], which went along with a general maturing of the genre away from [[space opera]] to a more literary approach touching on such adult issues as politics and [[human sexuality]]. In reaction to this trend, [[hard science fiction]] began to be distinguished as a separate subgenre, but paradoxically Heinlein is also considered a seminal figure in hard science fiction, due to his extensive knowledge of engineering and the careful scientific research demonstrated in his stories. Heinlein himself stated—with obvious pride—that in the days before pocket calculators, he and his wife Virginia once worked for several days on a mathematical equation describing an Earth–Mars rocket orbit, which was then subsumed in a single sentence of the novel ''Space Cadet''.

===Writing style===
Heinlein is often credited with bringing serious writing techniques to the genre of science fiction. For example, when writing about fictional worlds, previous authors were often limited by the reader's existing knowledge of a typical "space opera" setting, leading to a relatively low creativity level: The same starships, death rays, and horrifying rubbery aliens becoming ubiquitous.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} This was necessary unless the author was willing to go into long [[exposition (narrative)|expositions]] about the setting of the story, at a time when the word count was at a premium in SF.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

But Heinlein utilized a technique called "[[Exposition (narrative)#Indirect exposition/incluing|indirect exposition]]", perhaps first introduced by [[Rudyard Kipling]] in his own science fiction venture, the [[Aerial Board of Control]] stories. Kipling had picked this up during his time in [[India]], using it to avoid bogging down his stories set in India with explanations for his English readers.{{refn|1=Kipling had learned this trick in India. His original Anglo-Indian readership knew the customs and institutions and landscapes of British India at first hand. But when he began writing for a wider British and American audience, he had to provide his new readers with enough information for them to understand what was going on. In his earliest stories and verse he made liberal use of footnotes, but he evolved more subtle methods as his talent matured. A combination of outright exposition, sparingly used, and contextual clues, generously sprinkled through the narrative, offered the needed background. In ''Kim'' and other stories of India he uses King James English to indicate that characters are speaking in Hindustani; this is never explained, but it gets the message across subliminally.,<ref name=Lerner /> quoted in {{Cite web |title=Rudyard Kipling Invented SF! |website=Armed and Dangerous| date=December 2, 2005 |author=esr |url=http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=234 |access-date=December 29, 2022 |language=en-US |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401060459/http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=234 |archive-date=April 1, 2017 }}}} This technique — mentioning details in a way that lets the reader infer more about the universe than is actually spelled out<ref>[http://rachelsimon.com/wwg_exposition_v2.php The Writer's Writing Guide: Exposition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203023707/http://rachelsimon.com/wwg_exposition_v2.php |date=December 3, 2016 }} <br />With indirect exposition, the writer gives the reader the data in subtle but clear ways, thereby allowing the reader to be a partner when it comes to laying the foundation of the story. For instance, the narrator of Mona Simpson's story "Lawns" begins by telling us: "I steal. I've stolen books and money and even letters. Letters are great. I can't tell you the feeling walking down the street with 20 dollars in my purse, stolen earrings in my pocket." With this opening, we learn about the narrator's obsession with theft but, equally important, we learn the narrator's gender. This is done indirectly, by referring to the narrator's purse and the desire for stolen earrings.</ref>  — became a trademark rhetorical technique of both Heinlein and writers influenced by him. Heinlein was significantly influenced by Kipling beyond this, for example quoting him in "[[On the Writing of Speculative Fiction]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/157307571/On-the-Writing-of-Speculative-Fiction-Robert-a-Heinlein|title=On the Writing of Speculative Fiction—Robert A. Heinlein—Science Fiction—Science|publisher=Scribd|access-date=February 26, 2019|archive-date=June 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190625021927/https://www.scribd.com/document/157307571/On-the-Writing-of-Speculative-Fiction-Robert-a-Heinlein|url-status=live}}</ref>

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[file:heinlein-competent-man-quote.jpg|thumb|right|Heinlein is famous for his use of the Competent Man as a fundamental character in his stories.]] -->
Likewise, Heinlein's name is often associated with the [[competent man|competent hero]], a character archetype who, though he or she may have flaws and limitations, is a strong, accomplished person able to overcome any soluble problem set in their path. They tend to feel confident overall, have a broad life experience and set of skills, and not give up when the going gets tough. This style influenced not only the writing style of a generation of authors, but even their personal character. [[Harlan Ellison]] once said, "Very early in life when I read Robert Heinlein I got the thread that runs through his stories—the notion of the competent man ... I've always held that as my ideal. I've tried to be a very competent man."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XvaIuzLV41gC&q=competent+man+heinlein+character&pg=PA54|title=Harlan Ellison: The Edge of Forever|first1=Ellen|last1=Weil|first2=Gary K.|last2=Wolfe|date=November 26, 2017|publisher=Ohio State University Press|isbn=9780814208922|access-date=November 26, 2017|via=Google Books|archive-date=June 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605003205/https://books.google.com/books?id=XvaIuzLV41gC&q=competent+man+heinlein+character&pg=PA54|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Rules of writing====
{{See also|On the Writing of Speculative Fiction}}
When fellow writers, or fans, wrote Heinlein asking for writing advice, he famously gave out his own list of rules for becoming a successful writer:
# You must write.
# Finish what you start.
# You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order.
# You must put your story on the market.
# You must keep it on the market until it has sold.

About which he said:

{{blockquote|The above five rules really have more to do with how to write speculative fiction than anything said above them. But they are amazingly hard to follow—which is why there are so few professional writers and so many aspirants, and which is why I am not afraid to give away the racket!<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/heinleins-rules-introduction/|title=Heinlein's Rules: Introduction|website=Deanwesleysmith.com|access-date=November 26, 2017|archive-date=November 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171120150222/http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/heinleins-rules-introduction/|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Heinlein later published an entire article, "[[On the Writing of Speculative Fiction]]", which included his rules, and from which the above quote is taken. When he says "anything said above them", he refers to his other guidelines. For example, he describes most stories as fitting into one of a handful of basic categories:

* The gadget story
* The human interest story
* Boy meets girl
* [[The Brave Little Tailor|The Little Tailor]]
* The man-who-learned-better

In the article, Heinlein proposes that most stories fit into either the gadget story or the human interest story, which is itself subdivided into the three latter categories. He also credits [[L. Ron Hubbard]] as having identified "The Man-Who-Learned-Better".

===Influence among writers===
Heinlein has had a pervasive influence on other science fiction writers. In a 1953 poll of leading science fiction authors, he was cited more frequently as an influence than any other modern writer.<ref>Panshin, p. 3, describing de Camp's Science Fiction Handbook</ref> Critic James Gifford writes that

{{blockquote|text=Although many other writers have exceeded Heinlein's output, few can claim to match his broad and seminal influence. Scores of science fiction writers from the prewar Golden Age through the present day loudly and enthusiastically credit Heinlein for blazing the trails of their own careers, and shaping their styles and stories.|author=Robert A. Heinlein|title=''A Reader's Companion''|source=p. xiii}}

Heinlein gave Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle extensive advice on a draft manuscript of ''[[The Mote in God's Eye]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 1, 2013 |work=The Virginia Edition: A Sample of the Series |title=Letter to Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle about'' The Mote in God's Eye'' |first=Robert A. |last=Heinlein |url=http://www.virginiaedition.com/ve/TheVirginiaEdition-sample.pdf#page=23 |access-date=December 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701140830/http://www.virginiaedition.com/ve/TheVirginiaEdition-sample.pdf#page=23 |archive-date=July 1, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He contributed a cover blurb "Possibly the finest science fiction novel I have ever read." In their novel [[Footfall]], Niven and Pournelle included Robert A. Heinlein as a character under the name "Bob Anson." Anson in the novel is a respected and well-known science-fiction author. Writer [[David Gerrold]], responsible for creating the tribbles in ''Star Trek'', also credited Heinlein as the inspiration for his [[The Dingilliad|''Dingilliad'']] series of novels. [[Gregory Benford]] refers to his novel ''Jupiter Project'' as a Heinlein tribute. Similarly, [[Charles Stross]] says his Hugo Award-nominated novel [[Saturn's Children (novel)|''Saturn's Children'']] is "a space opera and late-period Robert A. Heinlein tribute",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.antipope.org/charlie/fiction/faq.html|title=The Charles Stross FAQ|website=Antipope.org|access-date=November 26, 2017|archive-date=January 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125014416/http://www.antipope.org/charlie/fiction/faq.html|url-status=live}}</ref> referring to Heinlein's ''[[Friday (novel)|Friday]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/08/interview-1.html#comment-57213 |title=Interview—Charlie's Diary |publisher=Antipope.org |date=August 27, 2010 |access-date=August 23, 2012 |archive-date=November 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102074641/http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/08/interview-1.html#comment-57213 |url-status=live }}</ref> The theme and plot of Kameron Hurley's novel, ''The Light Brigade'' clearly echo those of Heinlein's ''Starship Troopers''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/28/18276076/kameron-hurley-the-light-brigade-military-science-fiction-book-review|title=The Light Brigade is a worthy successor to Starship Troopers|first=Andrew|last=Liptak|date=March 28, 2019|website=The Verge|access-date=April 17, 2019|archive-date=April 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417002747/https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/28/18276076/kameron-hurley-the-light-brigade-military-science-fiction-book-review|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Words and phrases coined===
Even outside the science fiction community, several words and phrases coined or adopted by Heinlein have passed into common English usage:
* [[wikt:waldo|Waldo]], protagonist in the eponymous short story "[[Waldo (short story)|Waldo]]", whose name came to mean mechanical or robot arms in the real world that are akin to the ones used by the character in the story.
* [[Moonbat]]<ref>''[[The New York Times Magazine]]'', "On Language", by [[William Safire]], September 3, 2006</ref> used in [[United States politics]] as a pejorative political [[epithet]] referring to progressives or [[Left-wing politics|leftists]], was originally the name of a space ship in his story "[[Space Jockey]]".
* [[Grok]], a Martian word for understanding a thing so fully as to become one with it, from ''[[Stranger in a Strange Land]]'', whose root meaning in Martian is "to drink".
* [[Space marine]], an existing term popularized by Heinlein in short stories, the concept then being made famous by ''[[Starship Troopers]]'', though the term "space marine" is not used in that novel.
* [[Speculative fiction]], a term Heinlein used for the separation of serious, consistent science fiction writing, from the pop "sci fi" of the day.

===Inspiring culture and technology===
In 1962, [[Oberon Zell-Ravenheart]] (then still using his birth name, Tim Zell) founded the [[Church of All Worlds]], a [[Neopagan]] religious organization modeled in many ways (including its name) after the treatment of religion in the novel ''Stranger in a Strange Land''. This spiritual path included several ideas from the book, including non-mainstream family structures, social libertarianism, water-sharing rituals, an acceptance of all religious paths by a single tradition, and the use of several terms such as "grok", "Thou art God", and "Never Thirst". Though Heinlein was neither a member nor a promoter of the Church, there was a frequent exchange of correspondence between Zell and Heinlein, and he was a paid subscriber to their magazine, ''[[Green Egg]]''. This Church still exists as a [[501(C)(3)]] religious organization incorporated in California, with membership worldwide, and it remains an active part of the neopagan community today.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://original.caw.org|title=Church Of All Worlds|website=Original.caw.org|access-date=November 26, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101101225339/http://original.caw.org/|archive-date=November 1, 2010}}</ref> Zell-Ravenheart's wife, [[Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart|Morning Glory]] coined the term [[polyamory]] in 1990,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://polyinthemedia.blogspot.com/2007/01/polyamory-enters-oxford-english.html|title=Polyamory in the News: "Polyamory" enters the Oxford English Dictionary, and tracking the word's origins|access-date=June 28, 2020|archive-date=June 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605003116/https://polyinthemedia.blogspot.com/2007/01/polyamory-enters-oxford-english.html|url-status=live}}</ref> another movement that includes Heinlein concepts among its roots.

Heinlein was influential in making [[space exploration]] seem to the public more like a practical possibility. His stories in publications such as ''The Saturday Evening Post'' took a matter-of-fact approach to their outer-space setting, rather than the "gee whiz" tone that had previously been common. The documentary-like film ''[[Destination Moon (film)|Destination Moon]]'' advocated a [[Space Race]] with an unspecified foreign power almost a decade before such an idea became commonplace, and was promoted by an unprecedented publicity campaign in print publications. Many of the astronauts and others working in the U.S. space program grew up on a diet of the Heinlein [[young adult literature|juveniles]],{{Original research inline|date=October 2010}} best evidenced by the naming of a crater on Mars after him, and a tribute interspersed by the [[Apollo 15]] astronauts into their radio conversations while on the moon.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Hammer and the Feather. Corrected transcript and commentary |url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a15/a15.clsout3.html |work=Apollo 15 Lunar Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |access-date=December 29, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721181824/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a15/a15.clsout3.html#1675120 |archive-date=July 21, 2019}}</ref>

Heinlein was also a guest commentator (along with fellow SF author [[Arthur C. Clarke]]) for [[Walter Cronkite]]'s coverage of the [[Apollo 11]] Moon landing.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PLTkYJ7C40& |title=CBS News - Robert Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke interview with Walter Cronkite—Apollo 11 |date=October 6, 2016 |publisher=CBS News |access-date=June 17, 2020 |archive-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701075028/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PLTkYJ7C40& |url-status=live }}</ref> He remarked to Cronkite during the landing that, "This is the greatest event in human history, up to this time. This is—today is New Year's Day of the Year One."<ref>{{cite book|title= Robert A. Heinlein: 1907–1948, learning curve|last= Patterson|first= William|year= 2010|publisher= Tom Doherty Associates|location= New York|isbn= 978-0-7653-1960-9|page= 13|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Z93OvsN2yq8C&q=heinlein+cronkite&pg=PA13|access-date= April 12, 2011|archive-date= June 5, 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210605003116/https://books.google.com/books?id=Z93OvsN2yq8C&q=heinlein+cronkite&pg=PA13|url-status= live}}</ref>

Heinlein has inspired many transformational figures in business and technology including [[Lee Felsenstein]], the designer of the first mass-produced portable computer,<ref>{{cite book |last=Levy |first=Steven |date=1984 |title=[[Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution]] |publisher=Anchor Press/Doubleday |page=159 |isbn=0-385-19195-2}}</ref> [[Marc Andreessen]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/marc-andreessen/ |title=Marc Andreessen on Learning to Love the Humanities (Ep. 152) The real challenge to building on the frontier? Figuring out human behavior. |last=Cowen |first=Tyler |date=June 15, 2022 |website=Conversations with Tyler |publisher=The Mercatus Center at George Mason University |access-date=June 28, 2022 |quote=I'm one of the few people I know who thinks that late Robert Heinlein was better than early Robert Heinlein. That had a really big effect on me.}}</ref> co-author of the first widely-used web browser, and [[Elon Musk]], CEO of [[Tesla, Inc.|Tesla]] and founder of [[SpaceX]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/the-science-fiction-books-that-inspired-elon-musk_b67209 |title=Science Fiction Books That Inspired Elon Musk |website=Media Bistro: GalleyCat |first=Jason |last=Boog |date=March 19, 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516054940/http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/the-science-fiction-books-that-inspired-elon-musk_b67209 |archive-date=May 16, 2013}}</ref>

===Heinlein Society===
{{main|Heinlein Society}}
The Heinlein Society was founded by [[Virginia Heinlein]] on behalf of her husband, to "[[Pay it forward|pay forward]]" the legacy of the writer to future generations of "Heinlein's Children". The foundation has programs to:
* "Promote Heinlein blood drives."
* "Provide educational materials to educators."
* "Promote scholarly research and overall discussion of the works and ideas of Robert Anson Heinlein."

The Heinlein society also established the [[Robert A. Heinlein Award]] in 2003 "for outstanding published works in science fiction and technical writings to inspire the human exploration of space".<ref name="bsfs">{{cite web|url=http://www.bsfs.org/bsfsheinlein.htm|title=BSFS's Robert A. Heinlein Award Page [Version DA-3]|publisher=[[Baltimore Science Fiction Society]]|access-date=September 21, 2011|date=September 19, 2011|archive-date=September 24, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110924004655/http://www.bsfs.org/bsfsheinlein.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="locus-award-desc">{{cite magazine|url=http://locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Heinlein.html |title=The Locus Index to SF Awards: About the Robert A. Heinlein Award |magazine=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus Online]] |access-date=May 19, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025141816/http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Heinlein.html |archive-date=October 25, 2012 }}</ref>