Writhes breathlessly, as an author does (6)
I believe the answer is:
writes
'writhes breathlessly' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'an author does' is the wordplay.
'an author' becomes 'write' (to author something is to write it).
'does' becomes 's' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'write'+'s'='WRITES'
'as' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for writes that I've seen before include "Creates (a book)" , "Drops a line" , "Puts words on paper" , "Communicates by letter" , "Pens" .)