I'll agree with the pack it in tight method. This is one of the reasons I don't mind having short rounds to split, and odd sizes and shapes of wood in my stacks. I have a small firebox, and the diversity in wood size allows me to pack the stove nice and tight before I head for bed. I can typically pack the stove up around 11pm or so, and still have enough coals to start the fire when I return home from work at 3pm the next day, and have the house temp hovering around 65 or so when the weather is in the 20-30's outside. I accomplish this with a 1.285 cubic ft firebox.
All I do, is make sure I have a good coal bed, and start putting the pieces in one at a time. I leave the door cracked, load a piece, wait till it catches, pack another in, and another and another waiting with the door cracked until each piece catches. Then I slide all the splits to one side of the firebox, and pack the side gap (16" split leaves 2 or so inches on the side) with odd pieces, or cookies that I have broken in half. Close the door, and start throttling the air down till it's all the way down.