Goodreads asked Lorraine Cobcroft:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Lorraine Cobcroft Read, read, and read some more. And write, write and write some more. Don't worry whether your writing is good or not. Writers are people who write. Their writing becomes good with practice and learning.
Join a good writers group and/or participate in online critiquing groups to get feedback on your writing. But be thick-skinned! There are some nasty folk out there. Choose carefully who you listen to. They must be both capable of constructive critiquing, and genuinely wanting to help you improve. They should be people who help you build confidence, while giving you honest feedback.
There are loads of good courses out there for would-be writers. Many are free. Look at FutureLearn. Creative Writing Now offers very inexpensive courses and some are excellent.
Finally, get some good writers' software. Don't rely on MS Word. It's great for word-processing, but not for authoring. I love Write It Now, from Ravenshead software. Cheap, excellent quality, well featured and brilliantly supported. Also look at products that do psychological profiles. They are a great help to build believable characters.

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