how not to write a thesis

I don't know if this will ever be anything more than me venting my frustration about the thesis writing process.

I have been researching my topic for a year and a half - I know my topic. What I do not know is how to organize my thoughts and ideas to make sense and then compile them so that they make sense to a reader. I know my topic, what I do not know are the ancillary things that need to be compiled so that reader can also understand my topic. What can I take fore granted with my reader? Who is my reader? Does my reader even care about those things that I think they need to know in order to help them understand the era?

My biggest problem to date has been my inability to nail down my organizing. It has been my chief complaint about my graduate school experience. You take all these classes and then at the end you are supposed to compose a small book that will take you to the next level in your education. Somewhere I feel like I missed the proverbial boat.

I rarely have trouble writing a paper. I do the research and I write. I have tried to think of the chapters as individual papers to no avail. There is something about trying to write the 1st chapter of something that you can't wrap your mind around. I know, I know if I would just write something down that words might flow, but there is something to wanting things to be organized and simplified. That is the way we are taught to write, research, organize, outline, write. Simple. No.