Wife with mechanical routine got down (5)
I believe the answer is:
wrote
'got down' is the definition.
(got down on paper)
'wife with mechanical routine' is the wordplay.
'wife' becomes 'w' (abbreviation).
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'mechanical routine' becomes 'rote' (as in learning by rote).
'w'+'rote'='WROTE'
(Other definitions for wrote that I've seen before include "Composed (music)" , "Inscribed" , "Put to paper" , "Penned" .)