Back to front - strange and alien progress

Two characters - Luke and Baz - from what I thought was a completed trilogy, insisted their story had not yet been fully told. Told me things that happened in a tale written three years ago had something to do with them. Connections enough to hang another novel on.
They gave me a title - Drink with a dead man - to which I assigned an ISBN in early June. Sent me, care of Baz, a cryptic email, indicating the existence of new characters A and D. Allowed me to read a novel which suggested a way of incorporating A. Since then I've got to know A, a bit. D, despite my holding him up to several mirrors, is still distorted.

I've half-designed a cover and bought a dedicated notebook (not done that before) and have a rag bag into which I  throw patchwork ideas as and when they arrive (even though I know some will never be put to use). I wake each morning, mentally select and tack together, a nine-patch square. But when I rise, ready to make permanent, they fade or clash or fail to fit, too disparate in weight, too contrasting in behaviour, too out of character and hence too unbelievable. I unpick and put them back.

The other thing - the most alien of all - is that no-one's talking. Usually, I listen in to conversations, hearing them loud and clear, Clear enough to jot them down verbatim. But this time there's a lot of muttering, eyes sliding sideways, alert for eavesdroppers. I need to change my disguise. Improve my stalking tactics. Bug their phones.

But the good thing is, I've been here before. Have learnt that eventually all will come good.
And I've learnt to savour even the frustration of this beginning stage.

Day 1 NaNo - 2616 words

This year is very different to last.   Much more of a patchwork operation.   Last year I had two or three major conversations which had to be connected - and hugely expanded - to form some sort of novel-length story.   This year, beginning with an outline, I have a rag bag of characters - thirty of them, gathered in from myriad places - about whom random, and sometimes contradictory short pieces have been written.   I've spent quite a lot of time trying to plan how these characters might relate to each other but it is clear that I can't start with chapter one and work forwards in a straight line, but will have to keep zig-zagging about to add clues and red herrings to make sure that I create a worthwhile whodunnit.   I have  the first 4/5 days mapped out and have sort of identified one baddy, have one linking goody and so far, one body ...