For an outside fire I do kindling etc in center/underneath and build the larger stuff around and over, or teepee style. For woodstove I have found the topdown burn works better. Takes a little longer to get going, but much less smoke while starting. Also less likely to choke itself out if big stuff doesn't catch cause sometimes the smalls burn out too quick. That is especially good with the catalist element, cause it takes a lot of heat to fire it off initially, and all the initial smoke is going before it starts. Of course I still light it with a MAPP gas torch. LOL