So I will be DMing DnD encounters for the first time in my FLGS...

[D-naras]

... and I would like to ask for any suggestions from my fellow DMs and players who have already played the first adventure. This is my first time running such a game and I would like to ask you what works and what doesn't. Is there plenty of paperwork involved? What should I have with me during play? I can DM fairly well on my feet and adapt to my player's characters but should I avoid doing so since it might ruin the pre-packaged experience? For instance, instead of making the players see the village being attacked and rushing to help like suicidal heroes, I intend to have them stay in an inn on the outskirts of town before the attack so that they have no choice but to take action, instead of going: "Giant dragon attacks village. I have 8 hit points. Welp, good luck dirt farmers!".

Keep in mind, I have only skimmed (very briefly at that) through the material so I may be way off here.

[Chaosvii7]

The rules on making your own stuff up are really weird. But the adventure isn't suicide. The dragon fight comes towards the end and is only supposed to last a few rounds, and even then the dragon itself isn't actually interested in the raid(the dragon's description literally says, "the dragon is only there for it's frightful presence and not much else") and the real fight is with the waves of kobolds, drakes, and cultists. I'm not sure how much DM agency you're supposed to have, but the adventure isn't really brutal at all; Well, at least until somebody has to fight the enemy at the end of the first chapter, but even that's pitched and they won't die from it.

I'd say run it by the books, because the adventure isn't as "TPK right above you" as it seems. It's just really thematically involved with looking and feeling impressive. I let my players do just about anything that's reasonable or logical, and they've pulled a lot of funny tricks off with it.