What is the best way to start...

Start with wood shavings, paper, or some other material that does not have much bulk and starts on fire easily. Build and shape these into a teepee/pyramid structure inside your fire ring. Then add small sticks, and then logs, all in the same teepee shape. Light from the bottom and when the wood shavings or paper starts to burn, it will ignite the sticks, which will ignite the logs. When you have to add more logs, try to stick to the teepee shape. Incidentally, this works for fireplace fires as well.