I have a lot of things I really want the characters in my WIP series to do and see, but I can't think of a way to tie most of it in with the main plot. What do you guys think of writing books that have the characters developing and doing cool things, but doesn't ultimately further the overarching plot?
Is it like a sidequest that might have some relevance at some point? Because even if it's a little bit relevant, it might be useful. I do think sometimes stuff like this could be a useful break for the characters and the readers. Honestly, as a reader, if there is stuff happening all the time, I have to stop reading to calm down and I don't like to stop reading. All of that said, if it's very obviously not anything to do with the main story, like you're writing a story about a road trip, but suddenly the characters are in a library studying for school, then it might not be a good idea. That's a bad example, but I'm not good at this kind of thing. Hope this helps.
Don't include filler in your book. If the scenarios you're imagining result in important character growth or changes in relationships, then that is something worth including. If not, then it shouldn't be in your book. However if you really want to write it, it could potentially work as an unconnected short story.
This. Authors often include short stories in their novels as bonus content. I'm reading Ilona Andrews' Magic Rises, which has a bonus chapter. It's content that that author couldn't find a way to to reasonably shoehorn into the book, but still felt necessary to include because it had relevance to the plot. Or you could just post it on your website - people do that nowadays too.
Write it for fun but don't include it into your book, or as others say, have it as a separate bonus short story for those genuinely interested in your characters. Readers don't love your characters yet - they love the story they're reading with those characters. If it's not connected to the story, readers will become frustrated and bored because they're waiting to see what happens after X and there you are going on a random tangent to Mars. It's a fast way of losing your readers.
