Over the last year I have become a paper piecing fan and have posted several, what I hope to be, helpful tips about what I have discovered in my trail and error method. Perhaps a search would turn the hints up and be of use? If you are doing a limited number of odd shapes then holding the pattern up to a window to be sure you have your next to be sewn area covered will work. If it is a shape that repeats itself over and over then creating a template and noting the edge to be sewn will be a wise idea. I eventually bought an inexpensive light table... taking it to a backlit window each time proved an irritation. When using a printed cotton...you must remember: if you have a left and right side on the block, should you decide to cut your fabrics in multiples, you must stack your fabrics face up and then face down to get the cut correct... batiks help avoid that mistake because it is almost the same on both sides. The biggest help I found was using the freezer paper method: where you iron, fold, sew along fold line, iron and repeat ( also mentioned in postings) this method works incredibly well and eliminates ripping away the paper, you use less thread ( regular stitch length ...hence easier ripping when you make an error) and other verbal pluses.
Some people take to this method without any problem and others find it incredibly difficult to think of everything in reverse ( me included) but the results can undoubtedly spectacular and when you finally "get it" you can save the "f" bomb for something else.