That's been my experience too. There is a science to getting a fire going but it's not rocket science. I've sat and watched people put out good fires by piling on big pieces of wood, which can be pretty amusing.

I got a good supply from a friend so always bring some fat wood when I go backpacking. A very small amount will light off a lot of fires if you prepare your wood right. It really only takes a toothpick sized piece of it.

A few of the tricks I've picked up over the years are laying down a thick floor of wood and then building my fire on top of that. I try to use branches at least 3 inches thick laid close together and make it a couple layers thick.

Airspace is everything when you're starting a fire. On top of that "floor" I make sure there is a lot of airspace. I lay branches in a crosshatch pattern starting with sticks about 2 inches thick and and work my way up to tiny twigs on the top. I stick my tinder just inside those twigs, light it, and sit back. This "Top Down" approach takes a little longer to set up, and a little longer to burn up into a real fire, but it lights off with no fussing and it will burn a long time with no fussing and there will be a nice hot bed of coals by the time you have to add fuel. I've played with a lot of methods and this is my favorite because I can sit and relax as soon as I've lit my tinder.

Reflecting heat where you want it is easy. If it's just me and one or two others I'll lay a hunk of a fallen tree trunk or stack some big rocks behind the fire so the heat is reflected towards us.

Drying wood before you toss it on the fire. When my stick sources are all wet I stack them around my fire so they start drying out before I try to burn them. This helps keep the smoke down too.

Burning sticks. Most people tend to want to burn logs, but logs don't burn very well, especially logs that are wet. Sticks are easier to find, easier to carry, and easier to burn, and they don't smoke as much or pop and shoot big embers way off into the forest. They also burn more completely.

Small fires. When I'm solo I build a pretty small fire and I can get by a long time in pretty cold temps with a few bundles of sticks. Small fires are easier to maintain and easier to put out and scatter and LNT.

Gathering sticks. I carry a piece of nylon cord about 6 ft long with a loop tied in one end and lay it out flat on the ground. Then I go gather armfuls of sticks and start laying them on top of the cord. When I have a nice pile I grab the ends of the cord and put the straight end through the loop and pull it back tight and cinch it with a half hitch. I can carry a huge bundle of sticks back to camp this way. Three of those bundles will last me until the next morning with fuel to spare.