Where the stories come from (from journal entry 7-26-11)

People often ask me how I come up with the stories I come up with. My truth is that I don't come up with them at all. I just listen. The settings change but I close my eyes, or not, and a woman is sitting (or standing or walking or working or...) next to me and I write down what she says. Old, dead, southern women love to tell me their stories. They trust me to tell them how I got them. I am honored to be chosen. Over and over.