diff --git a/masm/lex.c b/masm/lex.c
index 8b68932..a7707d6 100644
--- a/masm/lex.c
+++ b/masm/lex.c
@@ -101,6 +101,12 @@ static int lex_string(struct lexer *lexer,char text[MAX_LEX_LENGTH])
 		if (c == '"')
 			break;
 
+		// strings cannot span multiple lines
+		if (c == '\n') {
+			ERROR_POS(pos, "reached newline before end of string");
+			return M_ERROR;
+		}
+
 		// match escape character
 		if (c == '\\') {
 			switch (lex_peek(lexer)) {
@@ -123,12 +129,6 @@ static int lex_string(struct lexer *lexer,char text[MAX_LEX_LENGTH])
 			}
 		}
 
-		// strings cannot span multiple lines
-		if (c == '\n') {
-			ERROR_POS(pos, "reached newline before end of string");
-			return M_ERROR;
-		}
-
 		if (len + 1 == MAX_LEX_LENGTH) {
 			ERROR_POS(pos, "string has max length of %d",
 				MAX_LEX_LENGTH);