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This is an interesting question, and there have been some interesting answers.
For me, it's pretty simple: what key do I hear the piece in?
I usually come up with an idea in my head (not playing an instrument), and almost invariably whatever key I hear the idea in is what I stick with. Of course, I don't usually hear music for strings in D-flat, nor would I hear a piece for winds in F-sharp minor; my mind is conditioned it seems to avoid inventing music for certain instruments or groups of instruments in keys they don't usually play or sound well in. An exception is choral and piano music, which I am liable to hear in almost any key.
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