Composed wife tore off (5)
I believe the answer is:
wrote
'composed' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'wife tore off' is the wordplay.
'wife' becomes 'w'.
'off' is an anagram indicator.
'tore' is an anagram of 'rote'.
'w'+'rote'='WROTE'
(Other definitions for wrote that I've seen before include "Composed (music)" , "Penned" , "Inscribed" , "Put to paper" .)