Neither Attacking nor Defending? I am a novice in chess. After about ten moves, I sometimes get into a situation where I am neither attacking nor defending and really can't figure out what my next move should be (that is I don't want to launch a premature attack, but not getting any offense from the opponent too). Is this common? and what should I do in such a situation?  

Update:

What should be the general attitude while playing the game? of course, the goal is to win, but rather, what should be in the back of the mind when moving pieces? Should it be always according to a plan or is there something else?
Help your pieces so they can help you.


Source: Paul Morphy.

The situation you describe is quite common. You find yourself in a position where there is no clear course of action. In these cases, I urge you to:


Identify your worst placed piece
Implement a short plan to improve that piece (no longer than 3 moves)


In the example below, which is position 41 of the quizzes in Mastering Chess Strategy by Johan Hellsten, we see that it's an early middle game with no major attacking or defensive duties for either side. Neither are there simplifying opportunities.

With White to move, we note that the a1-Rook is not doing anything. How can we activate it? Well, Rooks belong on open or semi-open files. The f1-Rook is already on a semi-open file, so it would be great to play Rae1. But the Queen is in the way. This led to the following plan being executed:

[FEN "2bq1r1k/rp4pp/p1p3n1/5p2/3P4/1BP2N1P/PP4P1/R2Q1RK1 w - - 0 1"]
[White "Kristjansson"]
[Black "Sokolov"]

  1. Qd2            b5            
  2. Rae1           Qd6           




If you find that you really can't decide on a move, then


  When in doubt, move a piece, not a pawn.


Source: The Wisest Things Ever Said About Chess by Andrew Soltis.

This is because if the piece move is poor, you can often rectify the mistake by moving it back. Not so with pawns.

In this example (game 149 of Mastering Chess Strategy), the centre is closed implying that play should be on the wings, so White plays 1. a4?!, instead of the flexible 1. O-O* (the King is almost certain to castle kingside anyway, and this also prevents Black's queenside play). The problem with 1. a4 is that Black gets a big space advantage and his King is still stuck in the middle, whereas 1. O-O doesn't suffer from this. Let's take a look:

[FEN "1rbq1rk1/1p1nbppp/p2p1n2/2pPp3/2P1P3/P1NB1N1P/1P3PP1/R1BQK2R w KQ - 0 1"]
[White "Gurevich"]
[Black "Piket"]

  1. a4 (1. O-O b5 2. cxb5 axb5 3. Nxb5 Nxe4 4. Na7)            Nh5           
  2. Ne2            g6            
  3. g4             Ng7           
  4. Bh6            Nf6           
  5. Ng3            Kh8           
  6. Qc2            Bd7           
  7. a5             b5            
  8. axb6ep         Qxb6          
  9. Ra2            a5            




Last but not least, regarding planning. Yes, it is advisable to have a series of short term plans (usually 3 moves or so) and to remain alert to tactical opportunities and threats. From John Nunn's Understanding Chess Middlegames on the section called Losing the Thread (emphasis is mine):


  Typical symptoms of this [playing poorly from a superior position] are planlessness, playing from move to move without any overall strategy, and spending too much time on moves.




*OK, castling isn't exactly a reversible decision, but it is more flexible, in the example position, than 1. a4?!