Not quite sure I put this where it's supposed to be, but here goes. I'm looking for a few resources for various world mythologies, though I believe I may have the Norse and Celtic subsets covered, in book form. Anyone have any good books to pick up? I'm open to just about anything.

Here's a few links of mythology resources. There are a number of books but which would be more useful depends on what you're looking for.
Mythology references

Thank you for the sound off. I have my own editing list a mile long, so I'm doing much of it in a slower fashion. I use the time to revise that paragraph. Things like 'ly' and the big bruiser in 1st pov -- 'I'. I also have my death star words i screw up. I search 'ed' (writing in present tense)'had' Etc for passive verb.  The repeated word function looked especially appealing. Since no one has discussed them, I was curious. I could see slush readers using them to delete manuscripts far from ready for public consumption quickly without actually having to read them.

The repeated word function does sound interesting but that is one issue that isn't hard to spot. Such programs are good for the initial pass to quickly locate the obvious stuff. They can be helpful with things like dropped words, homophones and other things, where the brain will fill in the right things automatically sometimes. But they do nothing to point out dry monologs, pointless background and lifeless dialog.

I like to do it in three passes. A first read with markup. Then go back, make the correction and get it to read smoothly. Third I'll go back and try to point out the dry areas that need to be punched up to give the work texture and life.

Hints of character interspersed in dialogue and action that provide flavor - that's how its done in short stories, so that's not what we're discussing at all. Showing the history, the day to day life and family of the detective - that's not hints. What is being suggested in this thread is making all those aspects take up chunks of the book.

(Also imo Peroit has next to no personality but that's besides the point.)

Let's use a set of movies as an example: The Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

We don't know who Jack Sparrow is. We learn that Sparrow had a ship, and his crew mutinied. His goal is to get the ship back and to take his revenge. We only learn that he was dumped on an island, and how he got off that island, because he ends up on that island again (it's plot relevant). We learn that he is a notorious pirate. That is all we learn about his background. All we know about his motivations are that he wants his ship, and that he enjoys being a notorious pirate, and that causes him to rub it in the face of the authority. Even in the third movie, we meet his father, but we don't know anything about their relationship, they don't talk about their past, nothing. And yet he is an interesting and fun character; it's what and how he does things that's interesting.

The same thing goes for the Joker. All we know about his past is that he was The Red Hood, he fell in a vat, he is now the Joker. His behavior is unpredictable, and his motivation is purely chaos. And yet he is still interesting and fun; it's what and how he does things that's interesting.

The way that you are talking, not only do we need to know all that other stuff about them because it's important, but we need to spend a good amount of time on them. But we don't.

Basically, look at any Pulp story. It's all about "What is happening right now". And what's happening right now is typically action, or the leadup to action. The story doesn't stay still. The descriptions are minimal, just enough to tell you a sense of something and then it's moving. There's next to no background, characterization is all in action or dialogue, etc.

What I'm hearing is a lot of excuses why you can't do it. Try taking a favorite full length novel you think is well written and try rewriting it in a different genre. A Western as SciFi or Fantasy. Don't just copy the story, make it your own. It may provide insight into the process.

Authors often complain about chapter creep. They get into the story so much, it just keeps going. It can be frustrating for publishers.

And edit, edit, edit. And research, research, research. And crank it out. It'll be another locked in weekend.

Anyone else add word count when editing? Love it. Love the depth. Love returning to the beginning now that I know the characters and where the plot threads will be going. BUT still cranking out those ending scenes of the rough draft. I think I'm up 2500 in the past couple days.

If you're not adding words, then you're likely just proofreading, not editing. Editing is often where a story can get depth, ambience and authenticity.

With the sound, my hand instinctively tightens on the pokers handle. I take a deep breath and realize I'm probably being stupid but with the evenings events I'm just too on edge to think clearly or take chances. Hesitantly, I go to the door and peek through the peephole.

What is someone doing out in this cold after midnight? And I was told no one was up here. Darn snowmen have really got me spooked. Wish I had a camera, then I'd know for sure if they were moving and changing scarves and hats or if it was just my imagination. Didn't I hear something about some escaped convict a few days ago? And there isn't even any cellphone service up here. What am I going to do? How did I let them talk me into coming up here? And why must this book be about zombies, why not pixies or cute little faeries or something like that. Trouble is they already gave me a $20k advance for the zombies and I can't afford to give it back.

I see the light moving from tree to tree, getting closer. What am I going to do? Then I remember the fireplace, the poker, it's better than nothing.

I quickly run to the fireplace and get the poker. But when I return and look out the window, I can't find the light from the torch. Where did they go? Then I hear it! That darn noise again; scratch, scratch, shuffle, shuffle. Crazy noises, shifting snowman, and some strange person running around in the middle of the night; what's next, ghosts? Then thanks to my grandmother's diary, this frightening image of a ghost in a clown's outfit pops into my head and sends shivers up my spine. I think I'd rather face an escaped convict. 

maybe one day I will write the ending and have time to think about edditing it
but I need something creative to do...
editing feels like work.... and is not fun
if I don't write the ending then I can have fun with it later
if I wanted work I would ask for more homework....

plus its so bad it might be worse then twilight (only with less kissing and sparkily vampires....)

okay its not that stupid.... but still reading it makes my head hurt....
(there was a point I was reading it and realised I forgot that gravaty was a thing and had to fix it and yeah.....) I can't write at 2am apparently

It's always work in the end, if it wasn't, everybody'd be doing it. And the harder it is, the greater the sense of accomplishment when you're finally done.
 

Yes, the words came like blood. Hmmm, blood, roses, hmmm, 'blood roses'. I like the sound of that. Thorns bring blood. How about a rose bush, whose thorns create zombies? The roses growing out of a chemical waste dump. That I think has possibilities. Even better, a vampire rose bush that sucks the blood out of its victims and turns them into zombies. And the critics say I have no originality.