Names have been changed to protect the innocent!

Ok not really, but I've been having issues with names lately. Like a mother preparing to give birth, I agonize over names.

I want my characters names to be something good. Something that won't get them beaten up on the play ground. Know what I mean?

But... (there is always a but, isn't there?)

I'm a pantser and as such, I don't plot and plan, I just write when the story hits me. I have to get it out of my head quickly and on to the paper before I lose it.

With that in mind I generally use filler names so I have something to call my little characters.

They usually start out with generic (common) names; Mike, Bob, George, Jennifer (Jen), Amy, etc..

There is only one problem with this. Sometimes, I get about halfway through a story and decide I hate the name and it stalls me in my writing.

Well, I did that this weekend.

I'm 6k words into, what eventually will be, a novella and I found I hated my main characters name. I hated every time I had to type it and it was preventing me from moving forward. She wasn't an, Amy. The name didn't fit the personality I had given her. I just couldn't see her with that name. She needed something better, something stronger, something... different.

So, I popped open the find feature and started replacing with all kinds of random names. She went from; Mina to Natasha to Giselle and finally landed on Kendra. I'm still not happy with it, but I can't spend all day on find and replace. I do still have a story to write. Kendra should do for now, it feels unique enough to go with the personalty and look I have given her.

Just a quick aside, ever met a person and thought to yourself, "Yep, she looks like a Jennifer." That's kind of the vibe I have with my characters. They need to look and feel right, matching with their names.

Ok, question time for you, blogger land. Do you agonize over character names like this? Have they ever prevented you from writing because you just don't see the character by the name you gave it?