Creative Writing - 17.08.2020

I am still writing which is a good thing and I will again start submitting stories to competitions.  When I am not writing my novel or planning future fiction projects, I have been working on my creative skills by completing writing exercises hoping to improve on some of the areas that let me down.  One area is point of view (POV), so I completed the chapter in the five - minute writer called the three-Mountain Solution to Point of View.

The exercise

An elderly woman drove her car through the front entrance of the local supermarket.  Write several separate versions of this event from each of the following perspectives.

The driver of the car

I don't know what happened.  One minute I blacked out and the next the airbags were deployed and the car halted to a stop.  I was dazed and shaking.  I thought I had died or something, but I knew this wasn't the case when I heard shouting and the driver's side door was pulled open and I was helped out by two security guards. The place was in a mess.  There was glass everywhere, people running here and there.  There was a man on the floor screaming.  Did my car go over him? I think so.  The paramedics were trying to help him.  His legs didn't look right.  I was taken to the office in the store.  The paramedics gave me a cursory check and said I was fine.  Then the police turned up. I was so confused when they started asking questions. Saying I did it on purpose.  I don't remember why I did it.  I blacked out.  I don't remember anything.

A checkout attendant whose till was near the entrance

OMG! This car just came speeding through the front of the store.  The glass shattered just like the movies.  Everyone was trying to get out of the way.  The car came to a stop after it went through the glass.  The windscreen on the car was intact, but the airbags had blown.  There was an eerie silence like in the film the Day After as security rushed forward and opened the driver's side and this little old lady got out.  The both grabbed her and held her tightly.  She looked so confused. I felt sorry for her.  She looked too old to be driving a car.  People that age should be banned from the road!

A mother shopping with her young son

I grabbed my boy to me closely.  I thought we were going to die.  All I could hear was shattering glass.  It was like a bomb going off.  We hit the floor.  I was too scared to get up.  There was lots of shouting.  Lots of shouting and screaming.  I could hear someone next to me saying a prayer.  My boy was whimpering.  I think he hurt himself when I pushed him to the floor. Poor babe.  But I would rather he hurt a little bit than be dead.

A shopper who didn't manage to get out of the way fast enough to avoid being knocked down

I hurt all over and I can't move.  My body feels like I have been run over by a bus, not a car.  Stupid woman.  She shouldn't be on the road!  I hope they lock her up and throw her car keys away for good.  Whoever let her on the road must need their head examining.  The doctor told me I have two broken legs, lots of bruising elsewhere and severe concussion.  It was the first day at my new job too so I popped out to get some lunch at the supermarket and had finished paying when this bloody car came hurtling towards me.  I didn't manage to get out the way quick enough, so my legs took the impact.  Guess my job's gone for a birdy.  Took me months to find the perfect role and now it's gone.

Another person of your choice - cigarette kiosk person

The poor dear.  She looked so confused and vulnerable when she was escorted from the car.  She didn't appear to be hurt but you could tell she was full of regret.  I watched security take her away.  The paramedics were attending to a man who was shouting out in pain on the floor.  It looked like he was hurt really bad.  They loaded him up and took him away to the ambulance.  Some others were being treated for minor injuries.  I was okay as I dived for cover when I saw the car break through the window.  What a day. Poor old dear.  I hope she's okay.