Check this out:
Okay, it might be more impressive if I show you what is moving along the arrows:
At every vertex in a long word.
Flowing in to every vertex are two short words ("inputs"). Anagrammed together, these two short words yield the long word.
Flowing out of every vertex are two short words ("outputs"). Anagrammed together, these two short words also yield the long word.
Now it's your turn to create one. Look, I've made it easy for you by filling in the first word:
Follow these guidelines to create an aesthetically pleasing star:
1. Short words must be four letters or more. (So no I, A, DO, AM, ON, AND, etc.)
2. Short words may not appear within the long word without rearrangement. (So SPACEWALKING cannot be composed or decomposed into SPACE and WALKING.)
3. All words should be fairly well-known. (So no need to reach for the dictionary.)
Addendum:
I sense that this puzzle is too difficult to do by hand. Below, I present the broad outlines of the solution, as well as a much easier and more fun follow-on puzzle. That is probably the puzzle I should have posed!
Here are the long words at the vertices, going counterclockwise around the compass points:
N: VIDEOCAMERAS
NW: FOODSERVICE
W: WORKFORCES
SW: CAMERAWORK
S: VIDEOCAMERA
SE: FOODSERVICE
E: WORKFORCE
NE: CAMERAWORK
Now, can you fill in the short words which must travel along the arrows?
(Hint: None of the short words are CAMERA or WORK.)