Common charcoal grilling mistakes are not preheating the grates, failing to create two zone heat and also using lighter fluid.
While lighter fluid is common and meant to light charcoal grills, using lighter fluid when using a charcoal grill is best avoided if possible as the lighter fluid adds chemical taste to foods.
Failing to create two zone heat and not preheating the charcoal grill grates, leads to the food sticking and the food cooking unevenly.
Other charcoal grilling mistakes that are also very common are not cleaning the ashes, which blocks airflow and constantly opening the lid to the charcoal grill, which releases heat and oxygen and also not resting the meat after you grill it.
When grilling on a charcoal grill you should also always be sure to clean the grates to have a nice clean surface.
And allow the charcoal grill to heat up before adding the food.
And be sure to have any vents open on your charcoal grill, when grilling meats and also using lump charcoal also burns hotter than briquettes.
So if you can get lump charcoal instead of charcoal briquettes the lump charcoal will cook the foods much better.
If you do need to use lighter fluid on your charcoal to light it, then be sure to not use more than needed as it can introduce more chemical taste into your food.
You can light a charcoal grill using wood chips or some dry small kindling wood and paper if needed.
If you want to light your charcoal grill without lighter fluid you can use a chimney starter, oil soaked paper towels or an electric starter, which also helps to avoid the chemical taste of lighter fluid.
Using a chimney starter by using newspaper at the base to heat the coals in 10 to 15 minutes is the most reliable and easiest way of lighting a charcoal grill without lighter fluid.
You can also use natural fire starters like beeswax cubes, fatwood or oil soaked paper towels and place them under a pyramid of coals to get the charcoal lit.