For those who may be wondering about all the advice to use a newspaper high in the flue to get a draft going, it's simple physics/chemistry. Cold air sinks, hot air rises.
Before you start a fire, the masonry and flue are cold. You have a tall column of cold air sitting there. When you first start the fire, the heat from the fire must counteract the tendency of the cold air to "fall" into the room. If not, the cold air does "fall" into the room, carrying the initial smoke with it.
If you open the flue (or door) a bit before starting, you can sometimes allow the cold air in and the hot air from the room out, starting a bit of a flow up the chimney. Then light the newspaper as high up into the flue as you can get it and the draft should begin (this assumes no other issues with draft in your flue)
This phenomenon sometimes causes a slight odor problem for us in the Spring. The masonry mass and column of air in the flue is still cold. On a warm Spring day when we begin opening the doors and windows, we sometimes notice a burnt ash smell in the house. I finally realized that it was being caused by a reverse draft of air down the chimney as the cold air spills into the house, replaced by the warm air outside.
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