How To
How To
How to Talk to Your First Date in 5 Easy Steps

photo by Orin_Zebest Conversation is an art form. The simplest advice is to ask questions… and actually listen to the answers. Nothing says “I’m an asshole” quite like gazing absentmindedly at some hottie shooting pool in the back of the bar while your date tells you how she ate her lunch in the bathroom during […]

How To
How to Plan a First Date

Given how much it takes out of a person simply to approach a stranger at a bar, let alone get their number or ask them out, it seems unfair that you’ve then got to plan the perfect date, too. Unfortunately going to Disneyland isn’t usually a viable option — and neither’s Dollywood, which is too […]

How To
How to Boost a Woman’s Sexual Self-Esteem

photo by jamiesrabbits Men’s Health asked us to contribute some ideas to a piece they did recently on boosting women’s sexual self-esteem. Since the majority of the advice we slave over for this kind of thing often ends up on the cutting room floor, we like to offer it up here for you in all […]

How To
Sensual Holiday Gifts for That Special Someone

Boa Pleasure Ties from Lelo.com With a love interest, socks just won’t cut it when it comes to holiday gift-giving; it’s nice to give a present that shows you consider them a sex god/goddess. But don’t give something that’s obviously a present to yourself, like polyester butt-floss lingerie that may look good to you but […]

How To
How to Reject Someone Nicely

photo by Brujita Attention is always flattering, but it’s not always reciprocated — blame it on nose hair, pleated pants, wrong gender, that mysterious “chemistry,” etc. While it’s not fair to lead someone on by giving them a fake number (so mean!) or one of those commercial rejection lines (even meaner!), there is such a […]

How To
How to Pull Off a Cheesy Pickup Line

photo by rick As a general rule, the only pickup line we officially endorse is “Hi, my name is [your name here].” You can then embellish this intro with a situation-specific line such as “Can I buy you a drink?” or “Would you like to dance?” or “Please, go ahead of me, I actually enjoy […]

How To
How to Write a Sex Manual

Sex is funny. People clunk heads, make foolish noises, and generally exhibit the grace of Michael Bolton on Dancing with the Stars. But if you’ve read most of the sex manuals published in the past thirty years, you’d think we were all missing the joke. You’d conclude that good sex required a bearded man, a […]

How To
Don't Be a Beauty Fascist When It Comes to Dating

Let’s imagine that you’re in a relationship with someone you really dig: they’re witty, wise beyond their years, and well versed in the ways of amore. Plus, their table manners are impeccable. And yet, you find yourself in the midst of what might be termed a moral conundrum. Your dilemma? This special someone is severely […]

How To
How to Pitch a Sex Story

Media Bistro recently asked for our input on their advice piece, “How to Tell Sex Stories” — it’s part of their “How to Pitch” series (pretty handy for freelance writers who sign up for membership). They talked to many sex and relationship writers and editors, so there just wasn’t room for a lot of our […]

How To
The Good, the Bad and the Better of Vacation Sex

The July issue of the UK edition of Marie Claire featured an article on vacation sex, for which we were asked for some insight. Since we can’t link to it online, we thought we’d give you our unabridged thoughts on the topic — hopefully you haven’t taken your summer vacay yet and can benefit from […]

How To
10 Simple Steps to Hosting a Sexy Sleepover

photo by SFBNess If you’re planning on having a new guest over to “look at your etchings” for the first time, follow these 10 rules to ensure there’s a next time: Only invite a guest over when you won’t have to rush out the door the next morning. Warn any roommates that you will be […]

How To
Overnight Handbag Redux

photo by dunikowski A few weeks ago we did a post on the ideal contents of a woman’s purse, should she find herself suddenly having a casual sleepover. Well, you guys reamed us. Deservedly so in a few cases (we phoned some of it in); undeservedly, we thought, in a few others (especially considering we […]

How To
How to Travel with Your Sex Toys

photo by zieak Ethan Imboden is the founder of Jimmyjane, one of our favorite sex toy companies — their products are sleek and stylish and feel as good as they look. Ethan has also occasionally had his bags searched by TSA agents when flying, so we asked him to share some tips about traveling with […]

How To
How to Have Morning Sex

photo by rileyroxx Sex at daybreak (or, if you’re a freelancer, just before noon) isn’t just for newlyweds or long-term couples who happen to be morning people. Sometimes it can work in casual situations, too — in fact, sometimes it’s even better in a casual situation because you haven’t known each other long enough to […]

How To
The How To's of Designated Dialing

photo by sidewalk_flying Drunk dialing — we’ve all been there. For the record, not all booty calls conducted under the influence are considered drunk dialing. It’s only drunk dialing if you’re making a call that you will actually regret in the morning, whether or not that call results in booty. Typically when you drunk dial, […]

How To
The Top 10 Signs You’re Reading Bad Erotica

  Years ago, we broke our sex-writing cherries at Nerve.com, the online magazine about sex that featured impressive original fiction by the likes of Jay McInerney and Rick Moody. As young, naïve, and underpaid Internet employees, one of our duties included trudging through the slush pile—that four-foot-high stack of unsolicited submissions by amateur writers who […]