You can’t just…ignore them out of existence though apparently that’s exactly what you’ve been attempting. - Lois McMaster Bujold

Don't worry about that depressing old dictum "Write what you know". If you need to know something, look it up. Learn how to find out what you need to know to make it right. Be passionate, be picky, have enough self-criticism to demand of yourself your best and not sort of let it slide by. And remember that the greatest defect any piece of fiction can have is not to be finished.

“Face like an angel, mind like a rabid mongoose?”
Oser’s lips twitched very slightly. “You’ve met her.”

“The trouble with you, Ti,” lectured Leo kindly, “is that you lack teaching experience. If you had, you’d have faith that the most unlikely people can learn the most amazing things.”