Water supplies writer's work in short bursts (6)
I believe the answer is:
spasms
'work in short bursts' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are plural nouns, I cannot understand how they can define each other.
'water supplies writer's' is the wordplay.
'water' becomes 'spa' (I've seen this before).
'supplies writer' becomes 'sms' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'spa'+'sms'='SPASMS'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for spasms that I've seen before include "Involuntary convulsive movements" , "sudden bursts of activity" , "Uncontrollable muscle contractions" , "Seizures and convulsions" , "Sudden muscular contractions" .)