All I can really tell you about are my personal anal experiences. I'm sure that it works differently for everyone.
LOTS of lube. I can't stress that enough. I tried a couple different kinds, and I like plain old ky jelly the best. It's best if we start out in doggy style position, having him put just the head in at first, and then letting me slide back until it's all the way in at my own pace. For some reason, it always hurts when the head is put in, but once it gets all the way in...it's a GO from there. As hard/fast as my bf can give, I can take. It's just getting past that first initial penetration and getting it all the way in.
Once we start out in that position, I like to switch it up. Sometimes lying on flat on my stomach is very good. I also enjoy being on my back, on the edge of the bed, with him holding my legs up as high as possible in the air so that I can play with my clit at the same time. I actually discovered that (with clitoral foreplay to stimulate my clit and get me swollen) that I can *squirt* like this. Ha! Took me 33 years and lots of experimentation with an awesome partner to figure this out.
I think the key thing to anal is being relaxed. If you are tense, or your muscles tighten in ANY way it can be quite painful. I don't think being drunk would necessarily be a BAD idea if you are the type of person that gets very relaxed when you drink. Do whatever relaxes you, smoke a joint, have a drink, have your partner massage you and lots lots lots of foreplay to get you stimulated and excited. Also, in the very beginning, we started out with him using his fingers and building up. When I could tolerate 3 we went for the deal.