caitjim, just to put icing on the cake--the two microphones that you use for a stereo recording can even be directly on top of one another (!) and still create a really good stereo effect IF they are "directional" microphones (i.e. their response is selective as to the angles of arriving sound), and IF they're oriented with an awareness of their directional pattern so that each one picks up a largely separate region of the space in which you're recording.
The majority of two-mike stereo recordings are made either that way, or (more often) with directional microphones that are oriented according to the same general approach, but also having some space between them--usually just a few inches or so. That can give the recording a much better feeling of spaciousness than it would have without the spacing between the microphones.
--best regards