It's mostly trial-an-error. I didn't get good at it until I got the Skeleton Key, which doesn't break and makes the "automatic' attempt work every time. It automatically takes the place ofyour lockpick when you find it. You may eventually choose to give this item away as part of the main quest. Needless to say, it made practicing easier. Anyway, lockpicking takes a long time to "click". The easiest way to use them is to build up that skill (which you can learn from certian characters or even read about in certian books in the game) and use the "automatic attempt" button. This simply increases the probablility of your attempt working, and you personally don't need manual dexterity, or tounderstand how the locks work.
If you actually want to try the hard way, it's a matter of clicking the A button when each tumbler is bumped up to the very top. The tumbleers move up and down at different speeds, so you have to be careful. You have to get all the tumblers up to open the lock, and depending on your skill level, all the tumblers that are already up may be knocked back down by another one falling. Every time you try, it actually builds up your security skill level.
Be on the lookout for spells and spell scrolls that magically open locks. There is even a staff later on in the game that opens many locks with magic. This does not work on locked gates, though.
You may notice that lockpicks are hard to come by and not reliable to find (stores don't normally sell them), but there is a character in the game who sells them for a reasonable price. Who? It makes sense if you think about it!
PS-Before anyone calls me on the sheilds only being able to reflect Destruction magic, I realize I might actually be wrong on that--I just never found such an item.
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