diff --git a/src/definitions.h b/src/definitions.h
index cb864a7d..52b8c1e3 100644
--- a/src/definitions.h
+++ b/src/definitions.h
@@ -115,6 +115,13 @@
 #define REPLACING  1
 #define INREGION   2
 
+#define NORMAL  TRUE
+#define SPECIAL  FALSE
+#define TEMPORARY  FALSE
+
+#define ANNOTATE  TRUE
+#define NONOTES  FALSE
+
 #ifdef ENABLE_UTF8
 /* In UTF-8 a valid character is at most four bytes long. */
 #define MAXCHARLEN  4
diff --git a/src/files.c b/src/files.c
index b6fc9822..c4cdfd93 100644
--- a/src/files.c
+++ b/src/files.c
@@ -2074,7 +2074,7 @@ bool write_marked_file(const char *name, FILE *stream, bool normal,
 	birthline = openfile->filetop;
 	openfile->filetop = topline;
 
-	retval = write_file(name, stream, normal, method, FALSE);
+	retval = write_file(name, stream, normal, method, NONOTES);
 
 	/* Restore the proper state of the buffer. */
 	openfile->filetop = birthline;
@@ -2302,7 +2302,7 @@ int do_writeout(bool exiting, bool withprompt)
 					free(given);
 					if (choice == 1)
 						return write_file(openfile->filename, NULL,
-											TRUE, OVERWRITE, FALSE);
+											NORMAL, OVERWRITE, NONOTES);
 					else if (choice == 0)
 						return 2;
 					else
@@ -2324,10 +2324,10 @@ int do_writeout(bool exiting, bool withprompt)
 	 * the marked region; otherwise, write out the whole buffer. */
 #ifndef NANO_TINY
 	if (openfile->mark && withprompt && !exiting && !ISSET(RESTRICTED))
-		return write_marked_file(answer, NULL, TRUE, method);
+		return write_marked_file(answer, NULL, NORMAL, method);
 	else
 #endif
-		return write_file(answer, NULL, TRUE, method, TRUE);
+		return write_file(answer, NULL, NORMAL, method, ANNOTATE);
 }
 
 /* Write the current buffer to disk, or discard it. */
diff --git a/src/nano.c b/src/nano.c
index 7ee347b1..2efdcbd5 100644
--- a/src/nano.c
+++ b/src/nano.c
@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@ void emergency_save(const char *filename)
 
 	if (*targetname == '\0')
 		fprintf(stderr, _("\nToo many .save files\n"));
-	else if (write_file(targetname, NULL, FALSE, OVERWRITE, FALSE)) {
+	else if (write_file(targetname, NULL, SPECIAL, OVERWRITE, NONOTES)) {
 		fprintf(stderr, _("\nBuffer written to %s\n"), targetname);
 #ifndef NANO_TINY
 		/* Try to chmod/chown the saved file to the values of the original file,
diff --git a/src/text.c b/src/text.c
index 1a892eed..1335374e 100644
--- a/src/text.c
+++ b/src/text.c
@@ -2499,10 +2499,10 @@ void do_spell(void)
 
 #ifndef NANO_TINY
 	if (openfile->mark)
-		okay = write_marked_file(temp_name, stream, FALSE, OVERWRITE);
+		okay = write_marked_file(temp_name, stream, TEMPORARY, OVERWRITE);
 	else
 #endif
-		okay = write_file(temp_name, stream, FALSE, OVERWRITE, FALSE);
+		okay = write_file(temp_name, stream, TEMPORARY, OVERWRITE, NONOTES);
 
 	if (!okay) {
 		statusline(ALERT, _("Error writing temp file: %s"), strerror(errno));
@@ -2903,7 +2903,7 @@ void do_formatter(void)
 	temp_name = safe_tempfile(&stream);
 
 	if (temp_name != NULL)
-		okay = write_file(temp_name, stream, FALSE, OVERWRITE, FALSE);
+		okay = write_file(temp_name, stream, TEMPORARY, OVERWRITE, NONOTES);
 
 	if (!okay) {
 		statusline(ALERT, _("Error writing temp file: %s"), strerror(errno));