Writing can be both easy and difficult: easy if you are confident about your grammar, sentence construction, vocabulary, and overall writing style, and difficult if you lack the necessary skills and the confidence to speak your mind. Either way, these ten simple writing tips can be very helpful to improve your writing:

1. Never use a long word where a short one will do. Shorter words reduce the risk of losing the reader’s attention and increase comprehension.
2. Allow yourself to write badly first. Do not be afraid of it! Put your ideas in words; you can always re-write later! Also, editors are there to have your back!
3. Read what you wrote out loud. When you read your draft out loud or listen to someone else read it, your brain gets the information in a new way, and you may notice things that you didn’t see before.
4. Do not repeat yourself. Read your text aloud and ask yourself: Is it necessary to mention that particular sentence/phrase/word AGAIN? If your answer is no, then delete it completely, brutally, and fearlessly! And if the answer is yes, then rephrase, reword or re-structure the repeated part.
5. Break a big project into smaller, more manageable parts. Breaking a large project that seems unmanageable and confusing into smaller sub-projects or milestones, will help you tackle the task with a more focused mind and provides maximum productivity.
6. Be a storyteller. Most of us will forget the grand message unless it is tied to a story. Storytelling makes what you want to say more engaging, easier to understand and easier to believe.
7. Edit ruthlessly; let your writing rest for a while and edit fresh. Editing is hard for writers. Those words had not come by easily, and once you’ve written them, it’s hard to let go. True! But editing is bittersweet! Only when some of those words are gone, do you realize you can live without them. 
8. Do not rumble; stay on point and avoid fluff. When you let your writing ramble, you risk losing the reader. Let’s be honest, nobody enjoys having to scroll through a 1,000-word long piece of writing that could be summarized in about 500 words! Content that’s too wordy or full of meaningless fluff pushes your readers away.
9. Avoid uncommon abbreviations. Most abbreviations are considered informal. If you are writing something very formal, it’s better not to use them. Keep in mind that some readers may not know what an abbreviation means. If the abbreviation is uncommon or unfamiliar, make sure to explain what it means the first time you use it, or just stay away from them totally!
10. Write an outline. Even in a very simple piece of writing, you have to keep some kind of an organization to convey your message in a clear orderly way. Always structurize and organize your main points prior to writing.

Remember, if you’re still struggling with your writing after applying all these tips, or if you feel that you’re just too nice to do the slashing by yourself, there is always another option: find a professional editor to help you out and polish up your work.