This may be a little like cheat codes for fantasy fiction, but look up Sanderson's creative writing course lectures. It is meant for aspiring fantasy fiction authors but it has also made me a much more critical sci-fi and fantasy reader.
I pulled it up: 2013 Lecture 1: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8YydnShI45jSbRdMeyQ-S... start here. This YouTube account has all of the lectures. As an avid fanfic reader these lectures were immensely enjoyable especially as it is essentially one of the preminent authors of this era sharing his secret sauce freely.
I pulled it up: 2013 Lecture 1: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8YydnShI45jSbRdMeyQ-S... start here. This YouTube account has all of the lectures. As an avid fanfic reader these lectures were immensely enjoyable especially as it is essentially one of the preminent authors of this era sharing his secret sauce freely.