Attach a sheet of good-quality rag paper to your drawing board with gummed tape. Tape the edges of the sheet to prevent your paper from sliding around while you work. Choose a smooth surfaced paper, preferably toned either in light gray or beige. This will give you an additional color to work against--at least some of the paper's tone will likely show through the pastel pigments you apply. Toned paper will be less harsh than would be a glaring white sheet of paper.
Apply broad areas of color lightly at first. Lay a pastel stick flat on the paper and push it across the surface. Add complexity to the area of color you just applied by choosing another shade and dragging it across the area already covered with pigment. The powdery consistency of pastels allows you to blend color. Use your fingers to rub, smear, blend and burnish the pigment. Experiment with paint-like effects you can create by pushing the pigment around on the paper with a tiny bit of water. Create complex colors by layering a variety of tone. Blend the first layer with your fingers, then try layering another color on top without rubbing the pigment to make it blend.
Use the edges of your pastel sticks to draw lines and make marks. You can use line to create contour drawings--defining the edges of the subject you are drawing. Colorful lines add accent to broad areas of pastel color. Draw contours in colors that contrast and complement the tones that you have already applied to your drawing. Blend broad areas of color to make them define areas of shadow. Leave thin areas of color that let the color of the paper show through the pastel when you want to define highlighted areas.