how would the notebook work?
would it have any mechanics that you couldn't do with a normal notebook? (ex: an in game code causing somethings to happen.) Maybe writing could increase spirit. If it did, maybe you could go so far as to have the words be analized. So it could ally you with fire or frost by writing: I like the cold, or; I think the frost alligence sucks, to lower you frost counter. That's why maybe you could split the frost and fire counter, so that you could have negitive frost alligence and no fire aligence, have them both hate you. Though I think it should be a hidden counter, same with the spirit counter. Maybe have the frost and fire counter be unlockable, but the spirit counter should definitly be hidden. Maybe the higher your spirit level, you can have different things, eventually just having a full meter.
maybe you could have the journel be auto written, by the character, resulting in the player being able to figure out puzzles, and lore search.
maybe have both methods of journel.
Idk, just a suggestion.