What You'll Need:

Tinder. This is what you'll use to start your fire. Outdoors, this means small, dry sticks and twigs, while indoors newspaper will work just fine. In especially wet conditions, cedar bark, cattail down and birch bark are ideal materials. Make sure to keep them in a dry place as you gather several handfuls to start your fire.

Assemble your tinder in a loose pile at the center of where you'd like to build your fire. Elevating the tinder slightly on a platform of small stick is a good way to assure that tinder won't get wet, and that the necessary amount of air will be able to circulate. This circulation is necessary for your fire to burn properly.

Kindling. This is wood that's slightly larger than tinder, usually a bit less than an inch in diameter. This will burn easily and get your fire going, building a coal bed under your larger wood. Make sure this is dry. Make sure you choose sticks and twigs that have been off the ground, ideally these would be in the branches of trees and deadfalls.

Logs. You know what these look like. Usually a few inches in diameter, this is the wood that will go on your fire last, that'll build it up to the right size and keep it burning for awhile. You'll want to make sure this is dry before you use it. Some wood burns better than others. Select hardwoods or firs, avoid things such as basswood and poplar.