diff --git a/gui/buffer.go b/gui/buffer.go
index 36dd08f..78d87be 100644
--- a/gui/buffer.go
+++ b/gui/buffer.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package gui
 import (
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"log"
+	"os"
 	"path"
 	"regexp"
 	"runtime"
@@ -79,6 +80,15 @@ func (b *Buffer) OpenFile(filePath string) {
 		b.languageInfo = lang
 	}
 
+	// if the file doesn't exist, try to create it before reading it
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filePath); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		if f, err = os.Create(filePath); err != nil {
+			panic(err)
+		} else {
+			f.Close()
+		}
+	}
+
 	contents, err := ioutil.ReadFile(filePath)
 	if err != nil {
 		panic(err)