Right from the start I used a computer screen. I found being able to zoom and rotate the view on the screen to match exactly what I was seeing in the sky made things much easier for me than a black and white fixed size paper print.
I then slowly started to learn and reconise some of the constellations.
After 7 odd years (oh gez, that's a long time, getting old...) I still do it the same way now.
It takes practice
