Here is some advice about writing by George Orwell that is both amusing and very true:

(1) Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech that you are used to seeing in print. (2) Never use a long word where a short one will do. (3) If it is possible to cut out a word, always cut it out. (4) Never use a passive where you can use the active. (5) Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. (6) Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous (Orwell.
Orwell, G. (1940). Inside the whale and other essays. London: Gollancz.