Write the sentence the thought needs, not the sentence you hope people will admire.

There are two audiences in your head while you write, and only one of them is the reader. The other is the imagined person who will find you clever, and sentences built for that person run a little longer, a little more decorated, and slightly off from what you meant. The thought gets bent to fit the phrase instead of the other way round.

On the next pass, find the line you are proudest of and check whether it is doing any work. If it is only performing, take it out and say the plain thing instead. Keep the lines you cut, since a few will belong somewhere else.