The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word GOGOL
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
G
O
G
O
L
More clues leading to the result GOGOL
- Energy and ambition having no place for a Russian author
- Author to progress repeatedly, reaching end of novel
- Writer making repeated attempts to get on line
- Russian author left by such an erotic dancer
- An enormous number denied a love for this Russian writer
- Huge number losing love somewhere along the line for Russian author
- Russian novelist, dynamic lecturer
- Russian 4 sort of dancing on line
- Novelist's emblem: dog's tail pointing up
- Repeatedly try Latin or Russian writer
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Writer" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case writer = gogol.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.