Is LibreOffice Writer compatible to Linux Mint 18 Sarah-cinnamon 32 bit? (I need a good word processor, also suitable for desk top publishing.)
LibreOffice is installed by default with any install of the Linux Mint - so it should definitely be compatible. I used LO on Mint myself for a while and didn’t experience any issues.
As far as doing desktop publishing goes you might find the following book helpful: Designing With LibreOffice As long as you don’t want a printed hardcopy book it is free to download, though you should donate (helps the world go round and makes the author happy). The author rates LO as having medium-level DTP capabilities (that being well beyond the likes of Microsoft Word). The interview here is good to read in this regard.
As to your, seeming, problem with LO Writer crashing you need to provide details of what exactly you are doing, what exactly happens, what operating system you are using, and so on, before people will be able to offer help. Give people exact details.
Start by uninstalling LO then installing the latest verison. Next, rename your LO user profile for testing purposes; it will create a new one automatically.
For more advanced DP, look into Scribus.