---
title: "2 Write Trying Quotes By Paul Beatty"
description: "2 Write Trying quotes by Paul Beatty. Plus more from Paul Beatty and more Write Trying sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/paul-beatty-6684_change-the-world_i-had-a-student-once-come-up-to-me-and-w_422004.png"
---

> [I had a student once come up to me and we were talking about this incident, and, of course, I never had the right thing to say. But later on, I realized I should have said: Don't write about trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/i-had-a-student-once-come-up-to-me-and-we-were-talking-about-this/)

[Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/paul-beatty-6684_change-the-world_i-had-a-student-once-come-up-to-me-and-w_422004.png)

> [Don't write about trying to change the world, just write about a changed world or a world that's not changing. Let that do the work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/don-t-write-about-trying-to-change-the-world-just-write-about-a/)

[Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/530/paul-beatty-6684_change_don-t-write-about-trying-to-change-the-w_1306022.png)

## More by Paul Beatty

> [There are things I don't like, like sitting at the head of the class. It makes me uncomfortable. I'll do it in a seminar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/there-are-things-i-don-t-like-like-sitting-at-the-head-of-the-class/)

[Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/)

> [In The Sellout I tried to capture how we can talk and see race, how we see urbanity, and how we see our history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/in-the-sellout-i-tried-to-capture-how-we-can-talk-and-see-race-how-we/)

[Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/)

> [In White Boy Shuffle, I combined my seventh-grade teacher, Mr. Takemoto, who really saved me - I don't think I've ever told anyone this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/in-white-boy-shuffle-i-combined-my-seventh-grade-teacher-mr-takemoto/)

[Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/)

> [I co-taught a seminar called Small Group Processes with my professor. I learned so much from it, so much about myself, about groups, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/i-co-taught-a-seminar-called-small-group-processes-with-my-professor/)

[Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/)

> [ I'll say this, and it'll sound like bullshit, but it's not: I don't really pay attention to this stuff \[Man Booker Prize\] very much.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/i-ll-say-this-and-it-ll-sound-like-bullshit-but-it-s-not-i-don-t/)

[Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/)

> [“Hereos. Idols. They're never who you think they are. Shorter. Nastier. Smellier. And when you finally meet them, there's something that makes you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/hereos-idols-they-re-never-who-you-think-they-are-shorter-nastier/)

[Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/)

> [There are many similarities between Germans and blacks. The nouns themselves are loaded with so much historical baggage it's impossible for anyone to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/there-are-many-similarities-between-germans-and-blacks-the-nouns/)

[Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/)

> [Like when you have the right title for something you're writing and you get lost - you can always go back to the title…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/like-when-you-have-the-right-title-for-something-you-re-writing-and/)

[Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/)

> [I had a student once come up to me and we were talking about this incident, and, of course, I never had the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/i-had-a-student-once-come-up-to-me-and-we-were-talking-about-this/)

[Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/)

> [ There are always so many things happening \[to us\] at one time. We read Isherwood's A Single Man in class, and we had to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/there-are-always-so-many-things-happening-to-us-at-one-time-we-read/)

[Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/)

> [I forget how beautiful and calm California is. It's not so much about the place, but also the age that I came to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/i-forget-how-beautiful-and-calm-california-is-it-s-not-so-much-about/)

[Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/)

> [“My litmus test of compatibility is 'Tom Cruise.' I hate people who hate Tom Cruise, cultural automatons who at the mention of his name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/my-litmus-test-of-compatibility-is-tom-cruise-i-hate-people-who-hate/)

[Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/)

> [“Sometimes it's the nihilism that makes life worth living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/sometimes-it-s-the-nihilism-that-makes-life-worth-living/)

[Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/)

> [I think there's nothing new going on. Except that, you're even more public than you've ever been.There's some good and some bad to that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/i-think-there-s-nothing-new-going-on-except-that-you-re-even-more/)

[Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/)

> [“Would he read the paper and see that the Union he saved was now a dysfunctional plutocracy,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/would-he-read-the-paper-and-see-that-the-union-he-saved-was-now-a/)

[Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/)

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