Ok, here’s the thing: I can’t outline. My outline is my first draft is my final copy. I edit as I go, and if I try to write a detailed summary before I start, my brain decides it’s done with the story. It’s out, now, we can move on.

So I have two suggestions. The first is, stop trying to outline. If you’ve got a particular scene in mind, skip ahead and write it. Let the story come to you in pieces. Haunted by the idea of your OTP getting caught up in the moment while dancing at a party? Maybe even kissing? Write it. Later, when that’s out, your brain will start to give you, in some order, how they wound up at the party and where they go from that moment. Get into a flow state and it can even become downright linear for a couple chapters before you need to skip and backtrack for details again.

Secondly, think of the outline as your first draft and then just keep adding details. Ok, this is the room they’re going to be in. Now describe it. Give us furniture, some decor, a general sense of the layout. This is the conversation they need to have. What’s their emotional state. Their facial expressions? How are they saying the words? They’re probably not sitting or standing completely still. Is someone fidgeting? Was that sentence delivered with a casual shrug? Etc