Total loss — author doesn’t finish, gentleman doesn’t begin (5-3)
I believe the answer is:
write-off
'total loss' is the definition.
'write-off' can be an answer for 'loss' (write-off is a kind of loss). I am unsure of the 'total' bit.
'author doesn't finish gentleman doesn't begin' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'author' could be 'write' (I've seen this before) and 'write' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'off' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for write-off that I've seen before include "Destroy (car)" , "Car too costly to repair" , "Send a letter - complete failure" , "Cancel like bad debt" , "Article beyond repair" .)