Gathers the writer set off (5)
I believe the answer is:
meets
'gathers' is the definition.
('meet' can be a synonym of 'gather')
'the writer set off' is the wordplay.
'the writer' becomes 'me' (the person who is writing these clues**).
'off' indicates an anagram.
'set' is an anagram of 'ets'.
'me'+'ets'='MEETS'
(Other definitions for meets that I've seen before include "Hunt assemblies" , "Comes together with others" , "sports gatherings" , "Encounters or suffices" , "Comes into contact with" .)