Non-main-plot-focused/"filler" chapters in an adventure-fantasy web-serial?

One of my current projects is an adventure-fantasy that I feel would be best suited for a web-serial format. It focuses on a healer and her companions as they travel to discover whatever purpose the healer may have for her gift. There isn't some looming threat or daunting antagonist hovering over the plot from the onset of the story. While their travels involve seeking out whatever the main character's destiny may be, several of the stories involve the main characters becoming involved in situations that aren't directly related to the major plotlines. They might go to explore some interesting sight, help people with a problem, or deal with some sort of danger. Some of these stories do include details that contribute to the major plotlines, but the main idea of them is that they involve the characters helping others along their way, revealing more about the companions and developing the main character's growing love of adventure and discovery.

The problem I'm having is...well, the thread title probably says it all. I'm worried that these chapters may come off as filler, that maybe the overall story would be better off without many of them. I'm worried that I may not be giving the main plot enough focus for the reader to care about it, and that while there are several strings along the way that lead up to reveals, I fear that readers might lose patience before those details come together. I just don't know if readers would really even care about the main characters finding out why there's no fish in a river, even if they end up witnessing a surprising sight, or if someone's stealing from an inn they stay at, even if the thief might be using magic to break in.

So I'm looking for advice and feedback. How much stuff that doesn't pertain to the main plotlines but (hopefully) develops and shows more about the characters and the world would you be fine with? How present do the main plotlines need to be to maintain your interest? If you have examples of novels/web stories where the author does a good job with travelling protagonists encountering situations that don't pertain to their main goals, those would be helpful as well. (Especially if they are a web-serial format and/or their travels aren't initially or primarily focused on saving the world in some form.)

Thanks for the responses. It's given me a lot to reflect upon. (The story is called Reflection, which I didn't note in the OP, so that's a pun I'm making purely for myself. *sigh-smiles...smighles*)

I'm probably worrying too much about it from a combination of my usual lack of self-confidence and this project being one that I'm really passionate about and hence concerned about messing up. I have taken a good look at what I have, both written and planned, and most of it does include details, whether worldbuilding or character moments, that do become important in the long run. I've also thought of the character development as being as important a part of the story as the main plot, but feared that too little focus on a main plot, especially when there's no overarching crisis or Big Bad to confront, could turn off readers.

So I've taken a few steps to make sure I'm on the right track. I've realized that I need to focus on the fact that this is fantasy, and hence these side-stories should give fantastic sights and revelations from the world. I've cut one chapter that didn't add much (conveniently, I can use the storyline elsewhere). And I've made myself a little table in Scrivener where I can not only summarize the chapters, but the things in them that become significant later on, so I can be certain it's not "filler". I've even started loosely planning out the later parts of the overall story, so I know how much room for side-stories I have and what major events I can/need to build up to in these side-stories.

It's given me the confidence to get back to actually working on it, so thanks a lot, everyone!

themindstream said:

Probably the best thing I can say is "it works for episodic TV".

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That's a good point. I didn't think about such because I don't really watch TV, and nothing I watch has an actual plot.

cstoned said:

I always wished Harry Potter would have a few more chapters that just covered an average day of class, without any Death Eaters or meaningful scribbles in the textbook margins to muck it all up

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Another good point. The stuff they learned in classes would end up being useful later on, or the events during class would end up having greater significance.

Vida Paradox said:

A recurring enemy that you can treat as amusement (Team Rocket) or serious threat (Daleks).

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Hmm, I do in fact have a H.I.V.E. Five Team Rocket of sorts. They have a certain significance in the story, but you've given me the idea to have them show up later on...