Stream Of Consciousness

The term "writing with substance" involves the utmost engagement of the reader. This is done through a plethora of writing techniques. Ultimately, if the content carries enough dimensions, upon which the reader immerses themselves in, the text is considered good. Often, these dimensions involve the reader gathering information about the characters in various ways. This information is usually discovered through reading conversations between characters and through first-person narration. In some cases, the level of immersion used in discovering new information involves reading the character's internal thought processes and line of thinking. 

This level of immersion is called the stream of consciousness. It is a method of narration that describes the flow of thoughts in the minds of the characters, in words. The stream of consciousness is often referred to as "interior monologue". The "narration" provides the readers with the sensation of being inside the characters minds. It provides a personal connection between character and reader, as characters, within the stream of consciousness, often mentally address the audience or other characters. Usually, the stream of consciousness is used as a revealing element in literature, as it is a clear method of communicating the idea of the plot. This is mainly done informally (generally lacking "proper" punctuation), as inner-thoughts are often thought in continuous sequences.

This example is the introductory (opening)  paragraph, in the literary text, The Door by E.B. White.

"Everything (he kept saying) is something it isn't. And everybody is always somewhere else. Maybe it was the city, being in the city, that made him feel how queer everything was and that it was something else. Maybe (he kept thinking) it was the names of the things. The names were tex and frequently koid. Or they were flex and oid or they were duroid (sani) or flexsan (duro), but everything was glass (but not quite glass) and the thing that you touched (the surface, washable, crease-resistant) was rubber, only it wasn't quite rubber and you didn't quite touch it but almost. The wall, which was glass but turned out on being approached not to be a wall, it was something else, it was an opening or doorway--and the doorway (through which he saw himself approaching) turned out to be something else, it was a wall. And what he had eaten not having agreed with him."

As demonstrated here, this paragraph is a stream of thoughts that carry out in sequence. This shows the difference between a typical narration and an internal monologue. The author clarifies himself with the use of words in brackets. This is done to further achieve a sense of personal engagement between the character and the reader.