The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 plus 3 letter word FELT-TIP PEN
F
E
L
T
-
T
I
P
P
E
N
More clues leading to the result FELT-TIP PEN
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 = felt-tip pen.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.