The Third Quarter Phenomenon

Or Why I Cannot Complete My Novel. 

My latest excuse.  

I recently heard about the third quarter phenomenon in relation to running. It is said to the hardest part of a race. The beginning is when you are fresh, your muscles and body ready; the second quarter is when you are still feeling good: you have found your pace; a rhythm. The last quarter, you can see the end and can make that final push. But the third quarter: that is when it can feel like hard work. No end in the site and the freshness of the start is long gone. The interesting thing about the third quarter is that it doesn’t matter how long or short a race is, the third quarter can feel to be the hardest.  

The Third Quarter Phenomenon in Space

When preparing humans to spend long periods in space and in isolation, researchers found a decline in performance and psychologically, in the third quarter of a mission, regardless of how long the actual mission.  Robert Bechtel and Amy Berning in 1991 were the first to coin the term “the third quarter phenomena” or TQP.  They reviewed studies from people living in isolated or confined areas such as in polar regions, underseas (submarines) or in space and simulation environments, for various lengths of time.  They found that the participants suffered from low mood, irritability, and decreased morale at the TQP whether in a 90 day period or a 1 year period. 

Is there a TQP In Writing?

I wondered if the same phenomenon can be applied to writing. Certainly, starting a new book is like starting a race: full of energy and excitement. And then you can settle into a pace, still enjoying your characters and excitement building as the plot thickens under your clever finger tips. Then do you stall out? Do you know the ending but can’t make the jump from middle to the ending scenes?  Perhaps you are caught in the TQP trap. There’s lots written about the messy middle and how to deal with it.  My favourite is “Write Your Novel from the Middle: A New Approach for Plotters, Pantsers and Everyone in Between” by James Scott Bell. 

But what if you get to middle and then suddenly you are no longer writing but cleaning out the kitchen junk drawer instead?

In space psychology, the suggestion is to plan for this phase by adding in additional training and counter measures aimed at improving the crew’s health and team cohesion during the third quarter.  For example, adding in new tasks showed improvement in morale during this period as it helped to break the monotony.  In racing, you need to have a plan to get through the third quarter and train specifically for running that section.  

What would be a plan for writers? What countermeasures could you deploy?  In James Scott Bell’s book, he discusses that the second half of the book is how the character is going to get out the mess that you created for them. Taking a page from space psychology, now is maybe a time to try a new task. Here are some ideas:

• If you are more of a planner, time to put the timer on and just write for a set period of time; conversely, if you’ve been a pantser, maybe now is the time to try some plotting
• Brain storm 8 to 10 ways your character could get out of the situation and write them down! 
• Try drawing a picture of what will happen next in your story
• There is some evidence that creativity can be sparked by using an actual pen and paper instead of the keyboard.  Some researchers have found that your brain is more stimulated when writing by hand verses typing. Try using writing long hand and see what happens! 
• Try writing in a new spot: either in your home or go to cafe or outside
• Try writing the TQ in a point of view of a different character

If you have suggestions on how to write through the third quarter, share them in the comments.  

Happy Writing!