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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/37730
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/37730
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

There is not really much you can do in a situation like this other than to clearly alert the reader to the situation up front. If there is no way to verify the next five actions until you have completed all of them, put a warning in big shiny letters saying:

> **WARNING:** The next five steps must all be completed correctly before you can test the result.

That way the reader know what to expect and is not taken by surprise. Not letting the reader get taken by surprise is 90% of the battle here, and the best way to do that is simply to tell them in advance about anything that may be unusual or out of the ordinary.

One thing you might consider doing to further clarify this it to develop a regular step structure in which each step has a action followed by a verification action.

> **Step 1:**  
> Action: Push the big red button.  
> Validation: Check that the little green light is on.

Then when you have multiple actions before a step can be verified, combine them into one step:

> **Step 2:**  
> Action:  
> 1. Eat  
> 2. Pray  
> 3. Love  
> Validation: Check soul for bliss.

This establishes a pattern for the reader, giving them correct expectations about when validation is possible.

But still use the warning, because explicit is better than implicit:

> **Step 2:**  
> Warning: All steps must be completed before bliss can be achieved.  
> Action:  
> 1. Eat  
> 2. Pray  
> 3. Love  
> Validation: Check soul for bliss.

Original score: 32