The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word TOLSTOY
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
T
O
L
S
T
O
Y
More clues leading to the result TOLSTOY
- Russian writer’s means to get rid of old model
- Writer’s opening rebuffed by flirt
- Writer works hard knocking out one play
- He wrote play after opening retracted
- Play about vaguely lost writer
- Author in sort of depression, upset over a trifle
- Author raised fortune with second play
- Author mostly told story with no end of flair
- Writer requiring lots to be revised in play
- Writer cast lots in play
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 = tolstoy.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.