Arg, I hate "ing" words. Continuous action--what does that really mean? Obviously, you can't have "unlocking the door, he climbed the stairs," but can you string together multiple continuous actions in one sentence?
A simple example sentence:
"She looked for her keys everywhere, searching cluttered surfaces, exploring nooks of forgotten desk drawers, reaching deep between seat cushions."
versus the more clear cut:
"She looked for her keys everywhere. She searched cluttered surface, explored the nooks of forgotten desk drawers, and reached deep between seat cushions."
To me, the 1st sentence is more dynamic, poetic, and implies a continuous sense of action and frustration, but is it so wrong it would bother you to read it?
A simple example sentence:
"She looked for her keys everywhere, searching cluttered surfaces, exploring nooks of forgotten desk drawers, reaching deep between seat cushions."
versus the more clear cut:
"She looked for her keys everywhere. She searched cluttered surface, explored the nooks of forgotten desk drawers, and reached deep between seat cushions."
To me, the 1st sentence is more dynamic, poetic, and implies a continuous sense of action and frustration, but is it so wrong it would bother you to read it?