I had a startling realization recently. I understand the concept of the opening and play book lines for 5-10 moves in if possible. However, once this stage of the opening ends, I'm lost! I don't know what goals should be important nor do I understand where I should try to get my pieces (and why they belong there). Most of my wins come off of being patient and waiting for my opponent to commit to an attack before fending it off with a brutal counterattack. Hopefully (with the help of kind people like you) I can begin to understand where my pieces need to be to produce more volatile attacks. I need help!

Yes you do. If you're memorising opening moves and then repeatedly coming out of the book with no idea of what you're supposed to be doing then I'd say that you really don't understand the concept of the opening at all.

Oh yeh and pick up Reassess your Chess by Jeremy Silman. It's all about what you're talking about.

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I understand the concepts of controlling the middle, developing knights early to support the middle, using the queen to support other pieces early, king safety, and connected rooks, and I get those done, I just don't know where the pieces should be placed for the transition into the middle game

Well there's a reason you want to control and support the centre. If you're just doing this every game then I still maintain that you don't understand the point of the opening.

Everything here is fine and dandy, but if you don't have an idea in mind when you're developing your pieces then having them all set up nice and pretty like, with connected rooks, isn't going to do you much good.

Which is what i'm asking.... I can get my pieces out and understand the THEORY, I just wonder what it is exactly I should do with these pieces.... There isn't always an obvious weakness in an opponent's formation.

Read 'How to Reassess your Chess' by Jeremy Silman.

Okay, now i know what i want for christmas

By the way I think that almost every player goes through what you're experiencing. There's a point where you and your opponent aren't going to make obvious, losing blunders every game.

Yeah... It's not always blunders, its just that I hardly ever win with a midgame checkmate. I gain a small positional advantage then.... SIMPLIFY!!! I nickel and dime my way to a win, generally with getting the 1 point after gaining a passed pawn while still up material. But to keep my rating climbing, I'll have to be a bit more lethal.

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Well... wait... what? You shouldn't be getting too many mid game checkmates against strong opponents anyways. 

It sounds like you already know exactly how to win games.

I probably phrased that wrong. I'm not gaining material or even making threats on the king during the middle game. I just have to trade off pieces until there are so few pieces left that I can't be out manuevered.

If you have an additional passed pawn then that's a good idea. If you're not gaining any material and just hoping for an endgame blunder on your opponents part then I see your problem.

Exactly :). i can't get a positional advantage EVERY game... And in some circumstances I blunder and get lucky. For instance there's this game I just finished.... Although this is certainly one of my lesser games, likely my worst of the 4 I've got.