Drawing is going to be quite the challenge

I have been really worried about learning to paint ever since I discovered that I need to learn to draw too.  I don't draw.  I am not even a doodler.  Sure, I drew as a kid, but who didn't?  After doing some of the exercises from the drawing book I mentioned in my last post I am even more worried.  On the surface drawing doesn't seem like it should be too hard.  After all, you only have to be able to draw straight or curved lines, everything else builds on that.  But I am not good at either.

One technique I figured out, I think, is you have to move your whole arm when drawing.  I was mostly moving my hand at the wrist and straight lines weren't straight and circles were oblong.  But I am following some blogs by other artists and watching videos on YouTube and a couple times I saw it mentioned that you move your whole arm when making brush strokes.  So it occurred to me that if that works for painting then maybe it works for drawing.  I gave it a shot and it works for drawing as well.

So if that is the case, why didn't the book tell me that?  So I went back over what I had read and there is a page with some text on several techniques for drawing.  There was one mention of moving your whole arm.  I feel if this is really how you are suppose to draw, then there should have been more emphasis on that one point.  So I am still wondering if I am on to something or not.  If anyone knows the answer please speak up as it would help me immensely.