I have had this story on my mind for almost 3 years and have finally decided to put it on paper. However the two protagonists are called John and Emma. Yes, these names still suck but they wouldn't be nearly as bad If my story wasn't set in a sci-fi dystopia. I don't know what to do. I feel like I can't change their names because that is what they have been called for 3 years now but at the same time these names are as abomanably awfull as it gets. What the hell do I do?
Weren't you struggling with fantasy names just moments ago? Sci-Fi dystopia sounds like you could use any name at all. Would John and Emma logically be popular names in that time? They might be a bit boring, but they've worked this far. I don't think anyone would bat an eye at it! What kind of names would you want for them? And you can change characters name at any time. If you don't have any name to exchange them with, keep them! Change them if/when you come up with something better.
Lol, yes I have trouble with names in almost all my stories... First thing in the setting those names would absolutely not be popular. I won't go into detail, it just doesn't work. My dilemma is more in the emotional connection I have to those names. I don't really want to change the names because well, it's their names. But at the same time my story suffers because it is so "out of character" for the setting.
Kill your darlings - as we writers love to say! If the names doesn't fit the setting, then you'll need to change them sooner or later! I think a lot of people put too much thoughts in to names, but if you know for yourself they don't fit, they don't fit! You could still keep writing with those names until something better comes along, though.
Yeah, as I have thought about it I think it is inevidable that I will have to change it. Still sad about it though... ;(
I don't really see anything wrong with the names. Both have a long tradition and a solid meaning behind them that you could use in your story if you wanted to.
Frank Herbert wrote a sci-fi novel set thousands of years in the future and had protagonists named Paul, Jessica and Duncan. What exactly makes John & Emma unsuitable?
Either change them or don't. There's not a lot of options. Is it more important to you to keep these legacy names or to come up with ones that you like better? That's really all there is to it. I don't see anything inherently wrong with John and Emma in a sci-fi dystopia, so I don't follow the logic that they're hurting your story somehow, though. In my far-future sf there are new ~fantasy~ style names, but there are also regular present-day human names, because 'John' has been around for over 2000 years and I don't see it just going away. You might run into the Aerith and Bob problem but, as @Azuresun Points out - Frank Herbert did it.
The names ain't gonna expedite or impede the writing process one way or the other. Worry about the important shit now and deal with it later.
I understand the hesitancy. I have a finished manscript right now and before I sent it out to agencies I realized that despite having worked on it for 3+ years, two of the major character's names didn't fit so I changed them. It was really weird and threw me off at first, but after a week I got used to seeing them and it turned out fine. If you think the names need to be changed, my advice is to go ahead and do it and I think the initial shock will wear off and you'll ultimately be more satisfied.