"kindling" is a correct and usable word in written English.
You can use it to refer to small pieces of wood used to start a fire. For example: "John gathered some kindling to light the campfire."
Miss Barbieri, he said, was a "superb mezzo from Italy, with a kindling dramatic temperament".
The Romney campaign refers to its early state focus as a "kindling strategy," believing that victories there will start a fire to propel them to the nomination.
If the arrival of Yelena and her ailing husband has awakened Vanya to the futility of his life, Sonya briefly feels a kindling of hope as Serebryakov calls for Astrov (Marco Barricelli), whom she has long adored.
The fact that my friend who cares nothing for hockey has seen the greatest player ever to lace skates causes within me an anguish born from a kindling of the purest injustice.
Around it is a light chicken curry, a pile of roasted peanuts still in their crimson skins, plus a kindling of tiny dried, salted fish, with a slightly woody texture that gives way to crunch.
Walking my kids into their elementary school in New Canaan, recently, I ad-libbed some lyrics, causing the boys acute embarrassment in front of their peers by singing, "Four echidnas, three platypuses, two kangaroos... and a koala in a gum tree!" Despite shushing noises from my sons, I felt a kindling of irrepressible cheer.
