... struck – this writer's crushed (9)
I believe the answer is:
impressed
'struck' is the definition.
('impress' can be a synonym of 'strike')
'writer's crushed' is the wordplay.
'writer's' becomes 'I'm' ('I am' referring to the writer of the clue).
'crushed' becomes 'pressed' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'im'+'pressed'='IMPRESSED'
'this' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for impressed that I've seen before include "Stamped; moved" , "Favourably influenced" , "Affected favourably" , "printed word?" , "Markedly affected" .)