There's no real shortcut to learning programming, but Lite-C is arguably the gentlest language you can possibly start with, so you should be able to get up and running with some basic scripts within a few days. Programming really is a journey - you can work at it for ten years without mastering it, but you can also perform a surprisingly large number of tasks quite early on in your journey.
My advice is to start simple. Try coding a Lite-C script that plots a few indicators on a chart. Then try coding the moving average cross-over strategy. Then try optimising it. Then you can start getting more complex.
Another tip that I found incredibly useful when I was starting out: regularly test your script is doing what you expect it to - when starting out, do it after you write a single line of code. Not only will this save you huge amounts of debugging time, it will give you immediate feedback on the errors you make.
In programming as in life, there is always someone who has a better way of doing things. Try coding your idea and then ask other programmers for feedback. I guarantee that seeing how the same thing can be implemented in many different ways, with varying degrees of elegance and efficiency, will provide a huge amount of insight and speed your own learning.
In terms of free tutorials that are relevant to Lite-C - check out Sam's Teach Yourself C in 24 Hours. Its pretty basic, but will give you a good introduction to C programming that fits in nicely with Lite-C.
If you ever feel you want more of a targeted, efficient leg up that will get you writing code for Zorro as quickly as possible, there is also module 1 of my introductory algorithmic trading course, which you can find via my email signature. Please don't take this as a hard sell, my intent is merely to make you aware that it exists. No hard feelings whatsoever if you're not up for forking out your hard earned cash!
Good luck with it, and enjoy the journey.
