Sounds like you’ve opened the flue.

The next culprit is extreme temperature differences. Cold chimney doesn’t let heat rise and you get backdraft until it heats up. But it’s not that cold yet.

Next culprit would be blocked chimney. An animal nest or something else. How long have you lived in the house and when’s the last time you had the chimney cleaned?

But nine times out of ten it’s the flue.

If chimney is clear my best guess is you need proper airflow. crack a window to create a draft for the first few logs.

Have you opened your fireplace flue so most smoke will escape?

You need to heat up the chimney…get your fire ready to go and then roll up some newspaper, light the end, and hold it near the flue…when it warms up you’ll see the flame start going up the flue…then light your fire with the paper and you should be good.

Your chimney might need to be cleaned. They do need to be cleaned periodically. I'm sure there's a company you could call if that's the case. We had them come every year when I was a kid.

Are you making sure the temp in and around the stove is at room temp? Like open the door and let the air inside the stove get to the same temp as the air outside the stove. After that, start with a small fire for a bit. Once that is going okay, put more wood in. Hope this helps.

can you post a picture of your fireplace, in particular the "vent thing" you're talking about.

is your wood properly seasoned?

Try cracking a window to create a draw up the chimney?

Use newspaper with your kindling. Since the newspaper burns so quickly, it should draw the smoke up.

I would invest in a wood stove insert for your fireplace.

A fireplace actually makes your house colder. Where you might be able to heat the whole place with a wood stove insert.

It sounds like either your flue isn't opening properly or you have a blockage in the chimney.

No disrespect meant at all, but looking at some of your responses to what people have suggested show you’re at the beginning of your journey to wood burning. We’ve all been there. I know it seems really straight forward: wood + light it on fire = everyone enjoys. Unfortunately there are many variables. I’d recommend doing a bit of reading on the subject because there are so many pitfalls than can ruin your experience and lighting a fire in your home can seriously be fatal. Once you get going it can be great. But I’d suggest this : top down fire

Make sure the wood you burn is seasoned as well. Don't burn green wood.

Sounds like chimney is clogged. I would have it swept. Also it could be you are stating the fire to far forward. Move it back. But call a chimney sweep. Have it looked at.

It's the flue, open access.

If you opened up the flue then maybe the chimney is blocked or very dirty

I think a few people here already solved the mystery. The person is using green wood, says he had somebody drop some branches and logs in the yard recently and that's what he's using. The chimney was inspected last year but never used so it sounds like the issue is unseasoned wood. Got to wait a year to use it.

Besides what other people mentioned, you'll want to avoid burning wood from evergreens e.g. pine. They generate more creosote than hard woods and creosote can clog up the chimney and lead to chimney fires.

I see you saying you opened the “vent thing”, and people are assuming you mean the flue, but are you talking about a vent that opens on the side or top of the fireplace? For the flue there is usually a large lever/bar to push or pull that is inside and above the fireplace. Are you opening that?

1. If this is a house you own and haven’t already it probably would be good to get a chimney inspection by a chimney sweep. The carbon and such from the fire will build up on the chimney overtime cutting the airflow and then there’s animals or things that could cause a blockage. If something blocks up the works it can cause smoke to get stuck in the house (if it gets bad it can lead to causing a fire inside the chimney which is not safe and potentially burn your house down… get an inspection)
2. Is your flue open. There is usually a value called the flu that has a handle of some type to close it when you don’t have a fire going so cold air doesn’t leak into your house. (I assume this is what you mean by the ”vent thing” but if you mean the little vents at the bottom of the fireplace floor, that’s not it)
3. When starting a fire it helps to get some heat going up the flue. If you’re using news paper to start the fire, I’d make a little torch of it first and light it and hold it up the flue for 10 seconds to heat up the air and start a draft pulling air up through the chimney. Then light the fire with the paper.

Sometimes you need to create an upward draft. Our wood stove is located near a window so we open the window. It helps get it started.

Is your flue open, there is a handle inside your fireplace on the tip pull or push it to open close the flue

If there is not blockage, Your chimney needs to be cleaned, probably.

It might not be anything you are doing wrong. The fireplace might not be constructed properly. My father in law had to install some sort of plate on top in front because the same thing was happening and it worked like a charm. Not sure what that piece is called though.

Try a duraflame, synthetic log.

Have you had a chimney inspection/cleaning?

Be aware they may try to sell you a chimney liner or suggest brick Re-pointing which you may or may not need.

Use a propane torch to pre heat the flue, and light your fire.

I used to have the same problem with smoke backing up into the house. You have to establish draft first - hot air rises, cold air falls. I would use a small propane heater or torch to establish draft, then get everything lit. No problems after that. Smoke went straight up the chimney and none in the house.

Running a fan, especially a ceiling fan in the room of the fire place could draw the smoke out the fire place and into the room.

Not sure where you live but I had an amazing experience with Ashes Away in Middlebury. They cleaned and inspected my chimney (way cheaper than anyone else) and he went up and checked the crown and flue tiles and took pictures so that I could see what was happening. He ended up having to replace the crown and flue tiles and add a chimney cap. He explained every single step and why it was needed, and I ended up hiring him to install my wood stove.

Everything about verifying your chimney is completely correct.

After that, you need to learn that a fire place will waste a ton of energy and make the rest of your house cold.

I added ventless gas logs.

I always have to warm up my wood stove before starting a fire otherwise my draft reverses and chokes out my house. The best way I check to know I'm good to light the fire is to hold a lit lighter near the stove door, if the flame moves in toward the fire I'm good. If the flame is pointing in toward the room, it needs more time heating up.

For now my best way is to use a small space heater inside my stove to get the draft moving where I want it go. With a wood stove I can easily feel draft direction, so Im not sure this would work on a regular fireplace but I dont see why it couldnt show you the draft. Even using a blown out match and watch where the smoke goes

Also, Dude, having fires inside is awesome and when you get it done and dusted you will have a flipping BLAST. So enjoy it.

Open a window first. Light a piece of newspaper up the chimney until you notice the smoke go up. Once it does, you have a draft and can light your fire.