I have been reading Tom Clancy lately. He's a guy who is in desperate need of an editor. If I am told that Pat Foley is a cowgirl one more time I am going to scream. Not just once in each novel (that I can see) but everytime she is introduced (practically).
I am now going to check out my manuscrip and see how much movement I can put in my descriptions without going overboard.
I also love Tale Of Two Cities.
I have it on audio tape, the reader is excellent and there are even a few sound effects.
My own writing is very spare, not at all florid like Dickens, but I still learned from him how to write a lively description.
Reread the first two chapters of Grisham’s latest book for a marvelous picture being painted in a sinister and foreboding way.