Take pages of newspaper and crinkle in loose balls; be liberal with these paper balls at the bottom of the fireplace. do not squish them too flat. If you can collect some pinecones, these are great for starting, place 2-3 on top of the paper. place your small wood, kindling, in a criss cross type of pattern so that air can get through. Light the paper at the bottom in several places across the front to get flame going all over the fire box. Don't let the kindling burn down too far before you add larger logs. Sometimes the logs they sell at a store are too large to get the fire going, try splitting them so that they are smaller and then once your fire is going well you can add the larger logs.

That's all there is to it. Happy fire starting!