(I cant decide for ya Jake, but Id Reccomend you try the method I used when I first started writing,
(long ago on another forum)
Try to break your character's basic abilites and traits down like a unit in a balanced computer game. Obviously he is a hero, as we all are, so he gets a certain bonus.
For example, my character has a very sharp technologicaly and tacticaly oriented mind, thrives on a sense of canraderie in battle, practically lives for the kill, and has strength and skills to back that up.
But he pays for that in that his emotions can have dire consequences when he lets them run amok, he doesnt relate well to people like Cody and Peter, he isnt much for bio-technology/genetics and he has a darker side that his morality must be careful to keep in check.
He is an immensly gifted creature in terms of having what amounts to 'perfect biology' but in turn that only works for him in a limited amount of situations in a world like the animorphs universe. Morphing also carries extra issues and a sense of revulsion for him.
So for each attribute he somehow pays somewhere else.
I also take alot of time to define his personality and thought process, my RP is nothing more than a balance of what Kelran the character would do + serving the needs/desires of the story arc, placed inside carefully thought out descriptors and settings to make the world he lives in seem real to the reader.
Translation for you = the more you know about Peter, the better you can write, and the better a character he will become.
To know more about him you have to sit down and come up with a dedicated definition of who he is now and his past, and a basic framework for how he develops as a person.
What is his personality? strengths and weaknesses both biological, mental, and personality-wise?
How does each weakness relate to each strength and vice versa? (remember that as people, our greatest strength is also often our rgeatest weakness somehow)
another tip is not to set his development in stone all at once.
I could have amde Kelran a commando or shock trooper, the perfect military officer. While he is a better soldier than any normal human by a mile, in the framework of the more advanced races like Gryphons, Smilodites, Andalites and Yeerks, he isnt superman.
He has a prodigy's worth of potential, he could be an absolutely unstoppable fighter, but it hasnt all been developed. What makes him fun to read during war moments (I hope) is how he is developing and learning things from his experiences.
IE, its more fun to read about a persons path to becoming a super-hero than it is to read about them being one who can simply always save the day.
I have already changed Kelran or begun to change him in logical ways that follow through on the interplay of what kind of person he is, his relations to those around him, and the world he lives in. I can do that because I have a framework for his development thats just rigid enough to give me a guided track but just flexible enough to suit the unpredictability of the story. That unpredictability emulates to some degree the real world which in turn combined with my framework and his development makes him seem more real as a person.
Finally, If nothing else I said makes any sense this is a simple way to tally your characters skills.
He should be good enough to blow right through what normal people consider difficult, and good enough to make an account of himself in a fight, and to be able to save the day in the end as part of the team....
But if;
A: he could save the day relatively easily
or B; finds fighting the antagonists of the story easy
then he has gone too far.
The point to being a hero is to face Villains. When we confront the Visser, for example, or a massive force of Hork Bajir bluebands, but for all our abilites, they still outmatch us for raw power, so it should be a skin-of-our-teeth win or escape based on a combination of our raw power, our morality, and our ingenuity.
If its too easy, then youre too powerful.
IE if you could easily pwn the Visser, youve got a few too many aces in the hole.
Ok, Im done giving tips for tonight
As I said before, just suggestions based on my past experiences. Think of it, if nothing else, as a peek at Kelran's behind the scenes.
)
Kelran ****ed his head, "You must show me this 'Star Trek' Sometime. It sounds fascinating, and when Im not occupied with bolstering the cave and its quality of life, I would enjoy something to give me a better cultural reference for Earth."
