So is this true, that #Dynalist is dying or dead completely? I started using it back in 2018 and thought it was an absolutely wonderful program (WAY better than #Workflowy, its main competitor), even used it as a task/todo list for several months. Supposedly the developers are also associated with #Obsidian.
Honestly I haven’t used it much over the last couple of years because yes, Obsidian contains a lot of the functionality. Still, Dynalist is just great as a standalone outliner with everything built in, including a free sync backend that isn’t iCloud.
My personal approach is just use a word processor in outline mode. Then fill in the details.
Or if my ideas aren't that well-formed, I just start writing down everything I know and then try to shuffle stuff into some kind of order. The mere act of writing it down forces me to organise my thoughts and identifies weak points in my thinking.
TL;DR: use a word processor. Write first, organise second.